Rift Walkers
by flagitiousbunny
Summary: The conclave has fallen, the Divine is dead, and only one person escapes the explosion. Her arrival from a distant world brings more questions, but it is her presence that will save them all. A crossover between Dragon Age: Inquisition and Fallout 4. Rated M for language and fight scenes.
1. Chapter 1: A Hole in the Sky

**Disclaimer:** I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in his weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

 **Author's note:** This is an AU where the Sole Survivor is summoned to be the Herald. Some tweaks: they're a wastelander instead of a vault dweller, and thus didn't have that main quest, with changes implied. Some adjustments to DA lore to allow for the bringing in of such an outsider. I want to explore how someone from Fallout would react to Ferelden, as it were. Constructive criticism welcome.

 **Chapter One: A Hole in the Sky**

 _It was red, red with blood. The ground was covered in bodies both ghoul and human, or human-like, and Dayo ran. She ran as fast as she could, knowing there were huge spiders after her, bigger than mutant hounds. The sky above raged. She stumbled to get out of the rad storm, her weapons gone, lost, useless, or left behind._

 _She had nothing, so she ran._

 _Someone was reaching out to her, a floating figure like a brightly glowing ghoul, but even as she outstretched her fingers the scenery around her tore away. Soon, the hand did as well, and she was left alone, and the world went dark…_

The girl looked lost. Kneeling on the floor, hands bound and head bowed, she did not look like a threat. And yet she may yet prove to be an enemy of all Thedas.

They moment they'd gotten word that she had regained consciousness, Cassandra made her way over, questions rattling around in her brain. She swung the doors inwards and headed straight to the prisoner, Leliana close behind. The girl was staring at her hands, not having quite noticed their entrance. As Cassandra watched, a glowing green light flared up, and the girl cried out softly, wincing at the surprise. They'd had plenty of time to study it the tear of light into her palm, to study her. It was as much a part of her as the skin around it.

As Cassandra's solid steps drew near, she looked up, hunching her shoulders defensively. The guards put away their swords, and Cassandra drew up short, regarding this person at her feet.

They compared each other for a long moment. Cassandra, in full metal and leather, looking down with her naturally stern expression, sword ready at her hip. And this outsider… Her skin might be sun-kissed under the dirt, and her hair was cut short, a hint of red in blonde, matted by dust and falling long over her left eye. She looked well-traveled, and lean, the result of more than a few days deficit on food. She was young, but Cassandra could see hardness behind her eyes. There was an edge to her. This information didn't settle well, and it didn't explain why she was here.

And her clothes… a stained white shirt, of fine material. Blue pants made of a sort of fabric that felt soft, but tough. The metalwork to close the front… Leliana had not been able to place a stitch of what she wore to anywhere in the known lands. And both pieces of clothing were patched up all over, like the wearer was trying to squeeze another year out of them.

There was more than that to this mystery. The marked hand… and the things she'd been carrying.

The stranger actually spoke up first. "...ad victoriam," she said, eyes flicking to the giant Inquisition symbol on her chest. A greeting, but was said with such hesitance that it took the lilt of a question. She looked very confused.

"Who are you?" Cassandra demanded.

"I… my name is Dayo." More hesitation. Her eyes followed every one of Cassandra's movements. Cassandra saw more wariness than fear. Dayo didn't know what to expect.

"You are under arrest and will be tried for murder," Cassandra said. Ah, there was the fear. "The conclave was destroyed, and you are the sole survivor."

"What? Conclave? Okay, wait, murder is… I wasn't at a conclave! Last I remember it, I was out in the Commonwealth, heading west to Sanctuary!"

"The… what? How dare you make light of this with gibberish!" Cassandra snapped, stepping forward and grabbing the marked hand, lifting Dayo to her feet in the next moment. Dayo's wide-eyed expression lit up with the sickly green light. "Explain this!"

"No clue, compadre!" Dayo said, fingers flexing. "I was hoping you could tell me!"

"You're lying!" Cassandra released the hand, only to grab both of Dayo's shoulders forcefully.

Leliana walked into the circle of light. For the first time, Dayo's eyes locked on her, confusion bleeding into defensiveness. "Cassandra, wait," Leliana said, resting her hand on her shoulder. Regardless of how this turned out, they may need this stranger, and Cassandra backed off. Leliana addressed Dayo, watching her closely for her reactions. "Do you remember what happened? How it began?"

"How _what_ began?" Dayo said, hands clenched into tight fists. Even through her fingers, green streamed out, and Dayo looked thoughtful. "I… Maybe I remember something, but it's like a dream. I think I remember a lady… a Glowing One. She was reaching out to me. I think she may have saved me from the things chasing me…?" She shook her head. "That's it. Everything else is simply… fear."

Cassandra exchanged curious glances with Leliana. "None of what you say makes sense," she snapped, some of the heat gone. There were two options here, as far as she was concerned. Either this girl was lying or telling the truth. If Dayo was lying, then this was already taking too much time trying to find out what really happened.

The thing was, her gut was telling her this was sincere. And if she was telling the truth, then they needed to act. They were losing time down here now that Dayo was awake.

"You will need to come outside with us," Cassandra said, stepping forward to take hold of Dayo's upper arm and guide her from the room, her free hand on her sword hilt just in case. It would save time to simply show her.

As they walked her out of the prison where she'd been kept, Dayo looked around at Haven's chantry. She was trying to be subtle, but it was like she saw everything for the first time. Cassandra had been hoping for answers, but with the way Dayo acted, she felt like they'd get nothing satisfactory anytime soon. In advance of the group, the large double doors were thrown open, and they marched her outside.

"What… the hell." Cassandra felt herself supporting more weight as Dayo's knees buckled a little, holding her easily as she took in the Breach above them. It crackled with green energy, a tear into the Fade that spewed monsters for miles around. Clouds whirled around it in a swirling, slow-moving vortex. Out in the courtyard, as many people were watching the Breach as were looking at Dayo.

"What the hell is that? It's lifting rocks the size of trucks! No, no… they gotta be bigger. I could fit factories on those!" Dayo said, trying to back up and bumping right into Cassandra, who didn't move an inch. Her voice pitched up as she spoke, green eyes wide. "Why is nobody evacuating? You're all gonna get rad poisoning!"

With every word, Cassandra felt her frustration grow. "It is a Breach," Leliana said. "The explosion at the conclave tore a hole into the Fade, and demons from that place are pouring in. There is word of smaller breaches popping up all over Thedas. You were found nearby, the only survivor; the soldiers say there was a woman standing over you."

"It is growing." With Cassandra's words, the Breach suddenly gave off a flash of energy. As it had before, Dayo's mark flared up as well, and the girl cried out and fell to her knees with pain. Cassandra sank to a knee beside her. She couldn't help the passionate words that came next, trying to convince their possible enemy to do what was right. "That mark and the Breach are connected. You may be the key to fixing all this, to saving us all. And yourself." As the Breach flexed its power, the mark grew.

Dayo seemed fixed on the Breach, with its swirling green energy, and swallowed hard. "I don't know if we should be going near there," she said. "Could make us real sick. Like… skin falling off." Her hand rubbed the bare skin of her wrist.

Cassandra raised her eyebrow, watching Dayo weighing her options. "We have many people getting close to this thing, and nobody's skin's fallen off just yet. Are you coming with me peacefully, or not?"

She could feel the Spymaster at her back, probably trying to read body language. Dayo stopped looking at the Breach, now really studying her surroundings, taking in the snow, the forest, all the people starting to gather around. Cassandra never seen someone look so far out of her element as she did watching her.

Dayo stood and then turned to Cassandra, a new expression on her face: hard determination. "Yeah, I'm coming with. Something weird is going on. If this'll do anything, I'll do it." Their eyes met for a long moment, and to her surprise, Cassandra was the one to look away first.

"I will head for the forward camp," Leliana said. With a nod from Cassandra, she took her leave.

Cassandra walked Dayo through the throngs of people. They stared, angry, most of the people around now watching their two-person procession. "So, I get any protection for doing this willingly?" Dayo murmured nervously.

"We are still mourning Divine Justinia. Her death is making them seek someone to blame," Cassandra said, her voice carrying the weight of her passion.

"No shit. Guess I'm the bullseye today. You said the conclave was destroyed," Dayo said, and Cassandra nodded, narrowing her eyes. "What is that?" How could she interpret that question? Was she not there, having walked from the Fade into the ruins of the conclave? Did she not know which conclave she'd attended? Or did she not understand what a conclave even was?

"It was her meeting to address the civil war between mages and templars."

Cassandra watched as Dayo squinted. "Mages?" she asked.

"They rebelled recently, against the templars..."

"We'll unpack that later. Wizards, yeah? With spells and shit? Or is this a cult thing."

Cassandra stopped short. "Do you mean to tell me you don't know what magic is?" she snapped, irritated at the banal question.

Dayo jumped, looking guiltily cautious at the tone. "N-no! I mean, I know, yes. What magic is, pfffttthhh." Dayo waved her hand, making that weird sound of forced bemusement again for good measure. "And they have it. Okay." She looked up at the rift in the sky. "Okay." They lingered there, the air heavy, before Cassandra reached out. Dayo flinched. She seemed surprised as Cassandra instead stepped forward to undo Dayo's bonds. Dayo rubbed her wrist again, her fingers lingering on the pale patch on her forearm, and Cassandra thought back to the odd device safe in its chest. There would be time for that later.

Together they hurried to the large double doors, which were again thrown open at their approach. "Good service," Dayo commented. As they walked, she kept glancing furtively around them. Why did this girl remind her so much of a lost duckling? She even walked like she wasn't used to snow, apparent by her clothing and the goosebumps on her arm. Cassandra considered turning back.

They headed past soldiers, but at the first dead body, Dayo stiffened up. Her steps got heavier, with a bit more grim resolve. "You said I survived the big bang," Dayo said, breaking the silence. "How?"

Their steps rang out in the cold air as they crossed a stone bridge. "Soldiers reported you stepping out of a rift, like this one. You passed out immediately. They… they say a woman was with you, but they were unable to identify her before she vanished."

As Cassandra spoke her last words, the rift above opened up, spewing green flames. "Fuck!" Cassandra heard Dayo yell from behind her. She saw one beam of green fire collide with the bridge, and the stones underfoot crumbled inwards like toy bricks. Cassandra stuck her landing as the bridge collapsed whereas Dayo rolled with a grunt, ending up on her ass, lucky to have escaped broken bones. They watched as another spewing green column of wispy magic slammed into the ice nearby, sending out waves of magic smoke.

Coiling from the smoke, two shade demons emerged, and Cassandra charged. They hissed and began a slow slide across the glassy ice, and Cassandra noted its claws, like wicked scythes. Behind her, she heard Dayo yell, but she couldn't stop her charge now. She spun, dealing a blow across the middle of the closest shade with a cry of challenge, cutting along its side. The other one reached out and slashed across her chest, and her armor turned it aside easily. She buried her blade in the area that was most likely its face, ripping up, narrowly dodging another slice before following suit with the other.

As she'd seen before, the demons first fell, then dissolved into nothingness, only a few small pieces clinging to this plane. Cassandra spun to see Dayo kneeling. She looked paler, but was clinging to the hilt of a sword as a wraith faded away under her. "Th-the fuck was this?" she gasped, panting slightly, standing, her hold on the sword amateurish at best.

Cassandra didn't think, just ran up, holding her own sword out in challenge. Ready for a fight. Dayo didn't even bother to raise her's as Cassandra approached, confused and shaken. "Drop. Your. Weapon," Cassandra ordered.

Without hesitation, Dayo did so. It clattered dully to the cold ice under their feet. Dayo raised her hands peacefully, and the obedience made Cassandra pause. Big time.

"Those were, uh… demons, right?" Dayo asked, more interested in eyeballing the bits left behind than looking at Cassandra's steel.

Cassandra turned on her heel, sheathing her weapon. "...in a sense. And. Pick up the sword."

"Huh?"

"I changed my mind. You were right to use it and you will need it from here on out. I alone cannot protect you." Cassandra was already running away. "You volunteered your help. I should remember that." She felt instead of saw Dayo let go a breath of relief as the two ran without a word along the path.

It was only moment before they came upon their first rift and the two people still fighting beneath it.

Cassandra was used to these rifts; small tears mirroring the Breach that seemed to cause them. She immediately charged into the fray, knocking a demon down and away from a very short man with a crossbow. Dayo tried to stay away from the rift itself but attempted to do the same with the other demon, slicing away at its side. The demon spun and slashed with a hideous cry. Dayo was only saved as an elven mage cast a shield around her, rendering its attacks useless. She dove effortlessly away, needing no more encouragement to avoid the line of fire and focus her effort to distract the shade. There she could be truly useful, drawing the shades away and running around to slice at their flank as the mage fired his attacks. That was much more effective, if still very clumsy, and Dayo held her own until the other two could help take it down.

Above them the rift flared, and Cassandra looked at it fearfully until the elf strode towards Dayo. He grabbed her hand and lifted it towards the rift. It glowed brighter, a glowing green tendril snaking out and connecting her with the tear in the sky. And just like that, it imploded. She winced and yanked back her hand, taking several large steps back.

"The fuck you do?" she asked, flexing her fingers. "Wait, the fuck _I_ do?"

"Your mark is the same magic as the breach in the sky," Solas said. "It can close the rifts. And possibly the Breach."

Cassandra looked to the sky. "She could hold the key to whatever this is."

"Good talk, guys," the much shorter companion said. He strode forward, looking Dayo over as she did him. "I'm Varric. I'm a dashing miscreant with a penchant for storytelling. Not that everybody likes that aspect of myself." Dayo briefly followed his stare to Cassandra, and with the both of them looking at her, she couldn't help but defensively hold her head higher. "And the quiet one is Solas."

"You… uh. Never mind." Dayo tore her gaze from Solas back to Cassandra. Solas continued to look Dayo over, curiously. "Well, hi. I'm Dayo. Nice to meet you guys, I suppose."

"Solas is the one who kept you alive," Varric mentioned. "Kept an eye on that mark."

"Oh. Well, thanks, my dude." Dayo nodded to Solas. "Should we move on?"

"Hold up, kiddo," Varric said, raising his hand to halt her in her tracks. "You carry that sword like a baby with a club. What the hell you think you're trying to do, beat the demons with the blunt side?"

Dayo blushed. "Well. That was the plan, with the sharp bits thrown in for extra bleedy piercing damage." When Varric raised an eyebrow in an incredulous look, Dayo immediately started to defend herself. "Hey, it's not like I have a choice! I don't know how to use this thing. It was just the first weapon I could find."

"This is true," Cassandra said, feeling the need to interject. "We did not have much time as we headed up the mountain. This sword was what we found on the way, and I did not think to arm her before we left." The memory of Cassandra yelling for Dayo to drop her weapon went unmentioned.

"Well, here," Varric said, temporarily stowing Bianca away so he could unsheath two long daggers, capable of doing some damage. "Try these on for size. If you like them, you can borrow them for the trip up."

Dayo set aside her sword, reaching out for the daggers and swinging them with more ease than the sword. "And Chuckles, can she borrow the vest-thing you're wearing? She's shivering."

"Certainly." Solas began shucking his robe.

Dayo relaxed a little around Varric, which Cassandra supposed was his brand of magic. She moved her arms in a circle, handling the blades. "This is like machetes. I can do a bit of this type of melee." She took the vest and donned it, sighing into the warmth.

Cassandra and the dwarf exchanged glances. "Right, then. The forward camp should be right ahead," Varric said.

Dayo ran ahead, and Cassandra followed, just as eager to rejoin a larger group. Safety in numbers, and all that. Which helped, as they quickly came upon another rift and had to set about closing that one as well. Cassandra felt as though this was simply applying a bandage to a severed limb, but the fact that it worked gave her hope.

"So what's your story, Smalls?" Varric asked after their second bout with demons. Dayo had successfully sealed the rift on her own this time with minimal prompting. He'd been right, Dayo did a lot better with the daggers. It was interesting watching her, constantly moving out of trouble after swiping fluidly.

Dayo ignored the fact that Varric had the nerve to call her Smalls. "My story? I fall asleep next to a bush, then wake up here. Isn't but nothing in between." Cassandra glanced at Dayo, who was using her shirt to wipe sweat off her brow. She had scars on her belly, and Cassandra looked quickly away too late for her brain to not analyze them. Lots of entry wounds, maybe from arrows, though they seemed too round, and a slash continuing up to her sternum, plus a burn on her hip… Who was this woman?

"The old amnesia bit? Make up something interesting and maybe they'll let you go," Varric said.

"That is something _you_ would do," Cassandra snapped. Varric never had to try hard to get her ire up. If it wasn't for Bianca and the danger in their trek, she wouldn't be allowing him to tag along.

Cassandra breathed easier when the gates of the forward camp opened in front of them, this zone still safe for now. Dayo followed closely behind Cassandra, and as they pulled up to a yelling Lord Chancellor, she couldn't help but look over to see the determined look on her face and how she studied the sky.

"Welcome," Leliana barely got out.

"Arrest her! You must try her for execution immediately!" the Lord Chancellor sputtered.

"Don't think that you have the power to order me around," Cassandra growled. "Move aside. We must get to the temple."

"You… you won't survive, Lady Cassandra."

"We definitely won't survive if we don't do something," Dayo interrupted at that point, stepping forward. "I may not make it to any trial you have planned, but we have to try to fix this." She opened her mouth as if to say more, but at that moment the rift pulsed a sharp wave of bright energy. Dayo choked back a cry, flinching as her hand flared with an audible crackle.

"We can take an alternate route through the mountains, with the soldiers serving as a distraction here," Leliana said. "Or, we charge." And somehow, she was looking at Dayo for an answer. Cassandra was, as well. The moment hung, quiet.

Dayo looked tired. "We charge," she said. "Distraction for what? That tear's spitting out demons indiscriminately. We've been fighting localized pockets so far with a fairly random spread. We shouldn't split the party at this point, and my gut is saying that it'll be an equally hard fight either way. Let's get this over with."

There was another quiet over the group, a bit of… surprise? It was not a bad bit of reasoning, and even though Varric grumbled, he did not fight it. "May the Maker have mercy on your souls," the Lord Chancellor murmured, and was ignored. Orders were given, and they headed out.

It was not long before they faced another rift, but the soldiers at their side helped. Numbers overwhelmed the demons with few casualties on their side. A blonde man walked up to them once the rift was sealed. "My thanks, Lady Cassandra. Without you helping, this may not be going as well."

"Dayo is the one who chose this route," Cassandra said. Dayo gave him a double thumbs-up and was met with a very confused expression. "Buy us time, Commander Cullen. We must reach the Breach."

"Yes, right away," he said, turning to Dayo. "I hope they're right. That you can help."

"Same." Dayo shrugged. "I like not being dead." He snorted at that, and turned to lead the soldiers in an effort to keep them off their trail. They made it quickly to the temple. Their pace slowed over the scorched land, not really losing the sense of urgency, but… it was hard to rush past still burning corpses. "I was pulled out of… the Fade here?" she asked, just loud enough to get over the energetic thrum of the nearby Breach.

"You stepped out, a mysterious lady at your back," Cassandra confirmed again. Another conundrum, wrapped in enigma and hidden in riddles.

They turned the corner and spotted the Breach. It was huge, hovering in a canyon-like depression most likely caused by the explosion. "How the hell am I to get to it," Dayo asked in a daze.

"We'll figure it out. Let's get to the base of the canyon."

"Seeker, you see the red lyrium too, right?"

"Noted, Varric." The jagged, intimidating crystals grew around the sight of the explosion, like a strange kind of rot. "Let's go." Cassandra led the charge down the stairs.

The air got thicker as they went, ripples that almost seemed to affect time itself. Suddenly, deep words rang out around them.

" _Now is the hour of our victory."_

"What…?" The group skittered to the side of the path, searching for the source.

"This could be the voice of the man who created the Breach," Solas replied to Cassandra, staff in position, and as they ran, it continued.

" _Bring forth the sacrifice."_

" _Help me!"_

A new voice. "That's the Divine!" Cassandra blurted out in shock. The party's steps slowed for a half-beat.

" _Help! Someone!"_

" _Keep the sacrifice still._ _Bring forth now the one pulled from hell itself, untouched by magic."_

" _What's… what's going on?"_

A third voice now, groggy, groaning, and a little like… "That's me," Dayo gasped besides Cassandra, the mark on her palm a pulsing beacon. The air here was even thicker, and the voices at once distant and too loud.

They reached ground zero of the explosion, the Breach directly overhead, and around them a ghostly scene took shape. The thick air around them rippled more, and though it was like looking through murky water, Cassandra knew what she was seeing: the Divine hanging magical shackles and Dayo kneeling on the ground, one hand clutching her head. Below her, the floor glowed green. The real Dayo backed up, face as shocked as all of them when Cassandra looked incredulously at her.

" _Run! Run while you still can, child!"_

The illusion Dayo staggered up to her feet at the words of the Divine as a dark figure approached. "That must be the one who caused this," Solas remarked, gaze intense. "This appears to be echoes from the Rift." As they watched, Dayo's last-minute attempt to bolt was stopped by the dark shadows reaching out and grabbing her forearm. One slice of his claws, and illusory blood dripped on the floor as fake Dayo cried out. He'd cut her right where her mark now lay, and as he held the ball to catch her blood it began glowing a bitter green.

 _"Your blood... and her death."_ There was movement around the Divine, shadowy figures stepping forward.

Then illusion Dayo pulled a small metallic object from her side and pointed it. There was a flash of light and a loud explosion, and suddenly a large hole was torn in the shadow. It reeled, Dayo's palm glowing green as she jerked away and reached out to grab the Divine.

" _Kill her!"_

Out of nowhere, there was a large explosion.

The the vision ended.

"What happened next?" Cassandra cried out, turning to Dayo. "You were there!"

"I don't remember _any_ of that," Dayo said quietly, brows furrowed as she stared at where the demonic person had been. "Uhhhhh, Solas. What do I do?"

"This Breach acts like a broken bone," Solas said. "Not set quite right. We have to break it open, and reseal it."

"And when we break it open?" Dayo asked.

"Be ready to fight."

Cassandra felt only a little safer with a small army at her back as Dayo approached the Breach to follow instructions. A long tendril of green snaked between Dayo's hand and the abomination in the sky, and within moments, it all seemed to burst open. Something impossibly huge was spat out, sailing over the group and landing hard on the ground before standing.

"Well… damn. That's one big Deathclaw," Dayo breathed. Then she dodged to the side as the being immediately turned towards her and fired out some sort of energy, as if sensing she was connected somehow.

Arrows filled the air as they attacked. Solas ran to Dayo's side to defend her, and she raised up a hand to pull her daggers from her back to do the same. For one odd moment, another tendril connected her and the rift before breaking.

"That magic… it could help weaken it somehow," Cassandra heard Solas say. "Get somewhere out of the way and try it again. Reach out for that connection."

Dayo nodded and ran. Cassandra's attacks against this thing didn't seem to do much, but Dayo pressed to the pillar and raised her hand, so keeping the demon distracted was her main job. The connection between her and the Rift thrummed audibly, becoming louder and louder until with a large pop the Rift flashed. The wave of energy went through the demon and brought it to its knees.

It was vulnerable. "Now!" Cassandra yelled, focusing their fire more intensely, now able to truly hurt it.

All too quickly, the demon stood and summoned lightning from its hands. Two electric whips sailed out, sweeping over the rock and slamming into the rock wall of their small canyon. She heard Dayo's cry as she was hit, Cassandra getting caught as well and landing hard on her back. God, she was wearing armor and had the breath solidly knocked out of her; how did Dayo fare? Cassandra forced herself to sit up and look over.

Though battered and bleeding, Dayo clenched her fists and forced herself to her elbows, then her knees. Lifting her head, Cassandra saw the determined look through the blood dribbling down her face from a cut. The guards kept the demon off of them for now, giving both the time to get to their feet. Then Dayo began to climb the wall of rock she'd landed near. Cassandra looked up and saw a ledge Dayo was bee-lining for and gripped her sword, determined to keep the demon off of Dayo's ass. The stranger was their only hope.

She only glanced over once during her part in the fight, just in time to witness Dayo climbing upon the ledge and opening another connection. The demon saw it too, though, and began to charge directly at the rock wall, knocking aside any soldiers in its way.

A small furrow appeared between Dayo's brows, and just as the demon was close enough, she charged forward, hand still up and connected to the rift. Cassandra cried out the moment she realized Dayo's intentions. Dayo leapt off the edge and sailed through the air before landing hard on the demon's head, a dagger burying deep into its neck. As it staggered, time froze, and the rift above burst open. The demon was felled, and Dayo jumped down, landing in a roll. The pride demon dissolved away, defeated. Her borrowed dagger clattered to the ground.

Ah. Now Cassandra could recognize Dayo's special look when she was about to do something _immensely_ stupid.

"Seal the rift! Now!" Solas cried out, and Cassandra noticed that the hard, jagged Breach had become more fluid, more pliable, and as Dayo raised her hand the connection was almost instantaneous. She cried out, straining with the effort, and the world hung on edge with her.

The rift flashed once as the seal was formed.

And before anybody could celebrate, Dayo tilted forward and collapsed to the ground, unconscious where she stood.


	2. Chapter 2: It's Tough to be Herald

**Disclaimer:** I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in his weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

 **Author's note:** Thanks for the reviews, follows and favs! This has been my mind-egg for a long time, and I'm glad it finally hatched into a story. Some more worldbuilding this chapter! I made a decision early on to switch between characters to tell the story. Last was Cassandra's POV, and now we switch to Dayo. As always, constructive criticism/questions welcome. Please sing the name of the chapter to the tune of 'it's tough to be a god.' (Did you know that there's no canon explanation for how Pip-Boys are powered? I do. It seems I'm going to be making up a lot of the logistics for Fallout mechanics as I go, haha.)

 **Chapter Two: It's Tough to be Herald**

Dayo woke up with a start. Nothing felt right. She was comfortable, for one, the mattress soft and the clothes gliding across her skin. She felt like she'd been asleep forever, and the sun shining through informed her that it was now the middle of the day. Dayo sat up, raising her hand against the light as her eyes adjusted, only then noticing the other person there. He jumped at being seen and dropped his tray with a crash.

"Holy shit!" Dayo blurted out. "You okay?"

"Oh Maker, I'm sorry, I… so sorry," he begged, kneeling and trying to gather up the pieces of whatever he'd fumbled.

Dayo blinked at him. He looked like he was scared of her. Why? She was unarmed, not anywhere near 'tall,' and now that she was awake she realized that she felt like she'd been hit with a sledgehammer. Many times. "Okay, so, this is weird," she keenly observed aloud as this person simpered. This one had pointy ears, too, just like Baldy on the mountain. Maybe it was something a raider gang did here? Was he a servant? Who the hell had servants? "What happened?"

"You sealed the breach three days ago. Lady Cassandra said to tell her you were awake, at once," the servant gasped, jumping to his feet. "At once, ma'am." And with that he was gone.

No raider had ever been that polite back home. Then again, nothing was familiar. Everything felt clean and crisp. All the buildings she saw were sturdy, new, built by many hands and strong resources. People wore armor that wasn't fashioned out of old hubcaps or metal scraps. There was clean water, and snow.

There were trees.

The trees had really thrown her for a loop. They had leaves and almost seemed supernatural, an explosion of green that made her nervous.

Dayo had never seen it aside from horrendously deteriorated pictures, so it took her embarrassingly long to recognize it. This was a world pre-fallout, possibly never-fallout. This is how it should be, but she didn't belong. Dayo was nowhere near home; people could shoot fire out of thin air and conjure energy from nothing, there were demons and rips in the sky…

She slid out of bed and hoisted herself up, groaning. She needed answers more than she needed secrets at this point. Cass wanted to talk? Alright. She was ready to talk.

Dayo ran her fingers down her front, realizing her entire outfit was much different. The shirt was hideous, some kind of mutant-green monstrosity with tacky buttons all down the front, but it was more whole than what she'd been wearing before. She'd have to ask of what became of her favorite pair of jeans in the vague hope that they didn't burn them or anything. A quick search of the room turned up nothing in the way of her things, but she found a much better jacket and weapons. Not Varric's backup blades; it seemed he'd gotten those back. Dayo actually raised her eyebrows as she assessed these new daggers. She wasn't used to melee, but she could already tell these were a lot better. Nobody's backup anything.

They practically seemed presented to her, or at least weren't nailed down, so with some fidgeting she got them hung on her back within easy reach over her shoulders. She wondered where her actual things were, her Pip-Boy and satchel… she'd had a gun in the vision, when she saved the woman whose face she couldn't quite make out. It had vanished, and that made her nervous.

A mirror hung nearby. Dayo almost didn't recognize herself. It was a much nicer mirror than what existed back home, but more than that, she was clean. The guy said she'd sealed the breach three days ago, so they must have gotten sick of her protective coating and scrubbed her down. She touched her face and fiddled with her hair, redoing the part so that her bangs once more fell over the faded scar on her forehead. Okay, better.

After a bit of standing, her headache had dulled, and Dayo finally opened the door to try to search out ol' Cassie.

Her mouth turned bone-dry the moment she walked out onto the porch. The Breach still hung in the sky, sure, but it was the people that made her nervous. Two rows of soldiers waited, their hands over their chest in respectful salute. There were people craning their necks to see her. Her, they all specifically were looking at her. And none of them looked mad anymore.

"What the actual fuck," Dayo whispered to herself, feeling about two feet tall and very exposed. The pointy-eared guy from earlier must have said something about her being awake. She looked around for buildings and saw one off in the distance, taller, like a church. She recognized it was where she'd been held earlier, so maybe Cass was there. Ducking her head, she hurried through the procession in an embarrassed jog.

"That's her," someone whispered, carried in the wind to her burning ears.

"She saved us all."

"The Herald of Andraste."

Dayo was now more determined than ever to get to Cass and drag her off somewhere quiet. She couldn't handle having so many questions rattling around in her brain. The procession of soldiers wasn't everywhere, thank god, and soon enough she was simply dodging whispering villagers and a couple saluting soldiers, which was marginally better. Dayo got close enough to the big building to see a crowd gathering and Cass arguing loudly with that man in very weird clothing. Dayo spun around immediately to flee the scene before she was spotted. It was that angry guy from before, who wanted her arrested, so she was going to keep her distance until that got sorted out.

"Hey, Smalls! Cass is looking for you."

Dayo slowed, seeing a familiar face in a door frame. Varric, coming out of what appeared to be a tavern.

"You know, she looked busy," Dayo said, approaching him. He'd been nice in looking after her. Reminded her of a few people; she could see a storyteller and a sheltering soul from a mile away. She didn't _love_ the nickname, especially from a man who was over half a head shorter than her, but she could certainly live with it for now.

"She's probably yelling at someone from the Chantry again," Varric said in his easy way.

"I get this weird impression that the Chantry and I should really not interact," Dayo added nervously.

"Oh, don't pay them too much mind for right now. We have both hands of the Divine leading the charge here. They're just in the whining phase."

"Yeah, that? I don't know what any of that means. I'm not eager for a conversation that I don't understand. Was I really out that long?"

Varric raised a brow. "Three days," he confirmed. "A lot of people thought you weren't going to make it. You were very weak after the attempt."

Dayo sucked in a breath and slowly released it. "You know, that might explain why I'm so parched," she joked weakly, motioning to the tavern behind him. "Buy me a drink?" He had to consider it, but the two entered the tavern and Dayo got her drink.

Mostly staring down at the wooden mug, Dayo tapped her foot on the wood of the bar in front of her. She could feel patron's eyes on her, but at least nobody was too close or whispering. Varric seemed helpful. She wouldn't turn down an opportunity to get information from him, first. Dayo tilted back her head and downed half her beer, going for an edge of courage. "I'm… so very not from around here. I don't know about any of this. Not demons, or tears in the sky…"

"I think those are new to all of us," Varric chuckled. "How bad is your amnesia there, Smalls?" Dayo swallowed some of the ale and shook her head, unwavering in her need for answers. Even if Varric thought she was crazy.

"No. Listen. I'm not used to swords, or magic, or people with pointy ears, or…" She looked out the door. "Trees. I don't know who the Divine is, or Andraste, or why I'm its herald. I don't know anything about the civil war that's happening." Dayo groaned and rested her forehead against the wood. "I'm firing blind, and right now the person I need to go talk to might end up having to kill me for an explosion I can't remember."

The silence between them was a little more serious now. Dayo felt a little lighter, but only because she could imagine some of this gravity shifting to him. "One hell of an outsider, to not even know magic," he finally murmured. "Gives a nicer explanation as to why you were staring at Solas' ears when you first met him, though, if you've never seen an elf. Alright. We'll talk, at least until the shouting is no longer audible."

Dayo drank her ale slowly as Varric started trying to fill her in. A storyteller by trade, he started with the world building. The world was Thedas, and they were in Ferelden, more specifically in a small town called Haven.

 _("This is a small town? It has more people than Diamond City."_

" _Kid, if you know a city made of diamonds, I wouldn't go around advertising it here.")_

Only mages could use magic but it was definitely a thing, and while there had been wars, nothing was a Great War-although he gravely said this could be it. The thought of this conflict being as awful as her own great war made her snort and gulp her beer. They didn't even have guns, much less nukes. The scar in the sky worried her, though. Andraste was a holy figure, like Jesus as best she could figure, the Maker was God, and the Chantry had to pretend to be all loving because of it. There were elves and dwarves alongside humans, with storied histories of their own. And Qunari, though from his description of their horns they sounded like walking Brahmin with a weird moral code. Darkspawn, sometimes, but not for a hot minute in this world, and they were awful monsters, like ghouls and bloodthirsty beasts.

"And you?" Varric asked finally, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, I fight things like ghouls and bloodthirsty beasts on the daily, so we can start there. I'm from a place called the Commonwealth. My home is Sanctuary."

"From Sanctuary to Haven, huh?"

"Not my job to point out how 'on the nose' the universe is. It's not a bad setup, for post-War."

"Post-war?"

"Yeah. The big war. Before the war, we were really good at machines. There were machines that could fly and telephones to talk across long distances."

"Sounds like magic to me."

"No magic, just good tech... too good. They developed bombs, big weapons that caused huge explosions and a crap ton of rads. Way bigger, way worse than the conclave. And two hundred years ago, our ancestors dropped a bunch of huge nukes everywhere during a stupid war and fucked the entire world," Dayo grumbled. Nothing she could do now, but it didn't stop her from feeling bitter about it. "Everywhere's beat up. Our trees don't really grow anymore, our water is unsafe to drink or even swim in, and all the radiation makes local wildlife big and mean."

"Everywhere? That _does_ sound like hell."

Dayo bristled. "I know what that voice said, on the mountain, and he can shove it where the sun don't shine, yeah? It's a tough life, but it's home, and I don't like hearing it called that. I have friends there. And now I don't know how I'll be getting back." She flexed her hand with the mark. "Or how I even got involved." Her storytelling wasn't as good as Varric's, but her confusion was the real problem anyway, and she could clarify her own story later. If she lived that long.

"Well, I don't know how you got here, but we'll probably get you back through magic somehow. If you want to know more about magic, talk with Solas," Varric offered. "Dwarves aren't so in touch with our mystic side. As an apostate, he could do it justice. Maybe give you some clues as to how to get started."

Right. The egg. The… elf. Dayo next pushed at the topic of the civil war between the mages and Templars. As Varric explained, she just listened, frown deepening at the things she heard. This was complicated, an issue stretching back thousands of years. Darkspawn, magic, religion, Andraste, the Templars… Dayo seemed to have arrived right as things began to boil over from a long heat. The more she heard, she more she felt a little overwhelmed. Things back home could be complicated, but politics tended to be a bit easier. Did it want to kill you? Then kill it first.

Regardless, she could now see the bigger picture going on. And like it or not, she was right in the middle of the frame. She couldn't forget that people were calling her the Herald of Andraste.

She pushed to her feet, raised her glass, and finished it in one go. "Thanks for the drink, Varric," Dayo sighed, pushing her chair in. "I think I have to go get yelled at now."

"Good luck, kiddo," Varric called after her. "And make plenty of eye contact!"

Dayo walked up to the arguing group with a stiff back. She knew she could be convincing, but Dayo doubted even getting the chance to try. "Chain her! At once!" Grand Chancellor Roderick yelled, waving his hand at her the moment he saw her and proving her point. Dayo relaxed only when the guards looked at Cassandra and did nothing.

"We will not ignore the Breach. It still exists. Without her, we may have no hope of solving this," Cassandra said before turning to her guards. "Leave us, and tell Commander Cullen to find us in the Chantry." The guards nodded, and Cassandra turned to head into the Chantry building. Leliana slid to walk beside her, Dayo having not noticed her in the shadows until just that moment. She had to get tips on that later. Dayo immediately followed, not wanting to lose her or be left alone with the Grand Chancellor. With no other choice, he followed, sputtering.

"You play with our lives here," he snarled. Dayo looked around the Chantry building; it was like the churches back home, except for the part where it wasn't a raider base or ghoul nest.

"Someone was at the conclave, someone caused this, and from what we saw in the vision, we cannot say-"

"What you saw?" the Grand Chancellor interrupted. They walked into a room at the end of the hall, a large table making it look like a conference room. "As if you can trust it! This could all be a plot!"

"No," Cassandra said, firmly, heading to a bookshelf. "We must consider the thought that the Maker sent her to us."

That stunned Dayo momentarily speechless. Was this the same woman who had spent their first few minutes acquainted shouting her head off? "Wow, Cass. Didn't know you cared."

Cassandra pulled a large book off the shelf. Dayo recognized the symbol as being similar to the one on Cassandra's breastplate the last time she'd seen her. "I was wrong, in the beginning. Maybe I am still wrong, but you were exactly what we needed, when we needed it. I will not ignore that." Dayo felt a little uneasy. _Herald of Andraste_ , her mind whispered.

He pointed at Dayo. "At any moment, she could yet betray us all!"

"Grand Chancellor, you yourself were not at the conclave," Leliana spoke up. Her quiet lilted accent nonetheless sliced through the shouting tension like a concealed dagger. "And now, everybody who was your superior is dead."

He blanched, openly horrified, as Dayo looked over Leliana with new respect. Turning it back onto authority figures was her favorite conversational weaponry. "You cannot be insinuating that I—"

"Do not actually have any power over us. Dayo stays here."

"You are not the one who can make such a decision as to keep her here!"

"Do not presume to know how things will unfold!" Cassandra turned and slammed the book down on the table. "I am hereby forming the Inquisition." She advanced on the man. "We will fix the sky, serve justice, and maintain the peace. And we will do it with or without your approval."

Dayo whistled, impressed and flattered that she had Cass at her back. "If you reject the Chantry, the repercussions—" the man started.

"If I wait around for the Chantry to balance millions of lives in its pursuit of this facsimile of justice, then the repercussions could include the deaths of uncountable innocents, and I will not have that on my conscience!"

"Fine!" The Grand Chancellor threw up his hands. "My report will make its way back to the Chantry—I cannot even fathom how they will react! May it all be upon your heads!" With that, he stormed off, finally leaving them alone.

Dayo was the one to break the silence; as dramatic and entertaining as all that was, she was still confused. "So, uh… that's cool. The Inquisition, huh?"

"They were an ancient order, simply working towards peace. Their formation eventually led to the Templars," Leliana explained.

"Except the Templars are kinda… rogue, yeah?" Dayo added, thinking of her conversation with Varric. From what she got, Templars kept an eye on mages. Mages were locked up, due to a group of them releasing darkspawn upon the world many centuries ago (probably). After centuries of what was basically home arrest for being born with magic, they rebelled, and the Templars lashed out in retaliation. Dayo was just surprised it took the mages that long to rebel.

"So we must fight for peace instead, as we fix the Breach. We cannot wait for the election of a new Divine to guide us." Cassandra turned to Dayo. "You _must_ help."

Arguable. There are always choices. She could run. Run and explore this new world, and its trees and water and fuck this fight. She hadn't caused it, shouldn't be a part.

But there would be no true escape from this problem. Dayo feared that if she didn't help, this world would be hurt, with her still in it. She wasn't the type to stand idly by, waiting for death. And her mark was a key, as was repeated so often. "Yes, of course," she said simply. Cassandra nodded as if it had been the only obvious answer, but Leliana's face mirrored Dayo's thought process. She'd had a choice.

She chose to protect the trees.

"We must move quickly. We face an enemy we do not yet know, and have much to learn. But first," Cassandra started, and both she and Leliana focused more heavily on Dayo. She tensed, sensing this was something the two had been intently discussing for the three days she'd been unconscious.

"You must know we have questions," Leliana said. "There is so much we don't know about you."

Dayo took a deep breath and looked down at her palm. She'd intended this conversation to happen. She knew she'd have to tell them just as she'd told Varric. She still worried that they wouldn't believe her.

"I'm… not from here." Dayo looked up. "I mean, no shit, right? But not from here… at all. I talked with Varric, and the closest I can reckon, I'm from another world. Let me know if that made sense." Dayo shrugged, her face turning red.

The other two didn't look entirely speechless. "The voice said… He mentioned you were from..." Cassandra said carefully.

"Hey, now, that's not fair," Dayo protested. "I'm not from here, but calling my home 'hell' is a little far. I mean, let's recap: one out of two of these worlds has _literal demons_ , and it ain't mine."

"Please." Dayo nodded and faltered through another explanation of her world, the vast differences between that wasteland and this place. When she had context, it was a little easier, but it still felt very surreal.

Cassandra frowned, rubbing her chin and watching her. "So you actually didn't know what magic was… I thought that strange."

"Yeah, I was a bit scared to tell you at the time." Dayo rubbed the back of her neck. "And now I have no clue to how to get back to it all. I've already told you all I could remember, about how I got here."

"Yes, and it wasn't much." Leliana sighed. She caught Cassandra's eye, and the two looked at each other a long while. Dayo grew nervous, until Cass nodded slightly. Leliana turned to Dayo and inclined her head towards the door. "Come with us, then."

The three didn't go far, just to the room next door. "Dayo, this is Josephine," Cassandra said, and Dayo held out her hand. Josephine met it, brown eyes meeting Dayo's confidently. She was cute, with a strong grip. "She's the Ambassador. She keeps the place running."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Dayo," Josephine said with a smile. Were those dimples? This entire party was way too attractive. Dayo was more used to her ghouls and settlers missing teeth than all these fine cheekbones and sculpted hotties. Made a girl feel inadequate. "We must talk more later, once you are more settled in."

Cullen walked in as Josephine began clearing some paper away. "Oh good, you're here," Cassandra said before she walked over to a chest in the corner. "Our spymaster, Leliana was very curious as to the nature of the things you had on you when we found you. We kept your things here."

"My Pip-Boy!" Dayo exclaimed as a small bundle was carefully emptied onto Josephine's desk. She didn't have much to declare. The satchel that held some Stimpaks and a few hits of Jet, her smaller bag of caps, and her missing Pip-Boy. Everything else was still in her main traveling bag, or lost at some point between here and there. She almost laughed seeing her bag of caps, fat after her last trip to Diamond City to sell her surplus goods. Some good those caps did her now. She'd had her 10 mm on her when she faced off against the shadow, according to that vision, but it was gone… Dayo raised her brow and reached for a small square she'd almost not seen before. Her ammo. Right, she'd taken out the clip before she slept; it must have only had the one shot in it. Well, wherever the pistol was, it was practically useless now.

Cassandra coughed, and Dayo became aware of them looking at her closely. "Could you… explain what we're looking at?"

"Sure, this… it's something called a Pip-Boy. You wear it like this." Dayo let out a small noise of relief with the familiar weight on her wrist. "And you turn it on… hopefully." She flicked a switch and let out a triumphant noise when it powered on, flicking through a few tabs on autopilot. No map, no radio, big surprise. "Look."

"It is… glowing?" Leliana asked, and the group crowded closer to see. Man, Dayo was glad she'd gotten cleaned up. "And there are words! Moving words!"

"Yeah. I think it's powered by nuclear energy. Like… how the sun glows and stuff." Which was close enough of an explanation without having to sit them down for a combination chemistry-physics lesson. "I use it for a map, and for playing music, and telling when there is radiation nearby. I mean, it's… pretty useless here, I guess." Except for battle, but she wasn't even sure where to begin on explaining VATS. It would possibly work with her daggers. She switched a tab, and it told her she was doing well. Pip-Boys didn't really care about headaches or fatigue, though.

She moved on to the syringes. "And these are chems. This one speeds up cell regeneration and heals you, and it's called a Stimpak. And this one, Jet, speeds your mind up so you can act faster. It's kind of addictive, so I don't use it a lot." Dayo picked up her bag of caps and poured a few out jingling onto her unmarked palm. "This is money. Worth… nothing." She didn't know what sort of currency they had, but she could take a wild guess and say it certainly wasn't bottlecaps.

"And the metal?" Cassandra added, pointing to the square she'd set down in favor of her other things.

"It's just a piece from some equipment. It doesn't do anything by itself," Dayo said honestly, putting the caps back. There weren't guns here, and she didn't care about explaining what a magazine was. Leliana looked hard at her, but did not pursue it.

"So now what?" Dayo asked. "You said something about wanting to fix the sky, right?"

"Solas believes the Breach can be sealed, if we pour in as much energy as it took to create it in the first place. We will need to look for help… and at the moment, we are sorely lacking. As distasteful as it is, we might need to go seek out the current Chantry leaders soon." Leliana paused. "But first, you will rest."

"I literally just got up," Dayo argued, wondering how Leliana knew how tired she was. She was usually better at hiding it. "And it's midday!"

"And yet you sway on your feet. Pardon us if we are over careful at the moment. You were out for a long time." Dayo opened her mouth to argue only to have the entire point of her statement negated as she yawned. She could feel the weariness in her bones. Sealing that rift had felt like her soul was being tugged out her palm. It had taken a lot out of her, potentially literally, so maybe they had a point. She couldn't help if she got sick, or kept taking three-day naps.

"There will be plenty of war still to fight tomorrow," Cullen said. "I will walk her back." The three women nodded and turned to each other. Dayo scooped up her chems and caps back into the satchel, and nobody made a move to stop her. With no reason to argue, she turned and followed Cullen back to the hut she'd emerged from. Her new clothes were much warmer, and she yawned again, suddenly eager for the bed, and time to mull over this world.

"I'm sorry," Cullen murmured once they were almost there, Dayo almost missing it, focused on the reactions and whisperings of the people around her.

"I'm sorry?" she echoed, cocking her head.

"We have placed a large burden upon you," he elaborated, "as you appear to be the key to our salvation. I merely wanted to express my apologies."

So formal. Dayo snorted, waving a hand. "Eh. I'm used to it." She looked around. "Besides, you only want me for my hand." She added a roguish wink, wondering how this man would react.

Apparently, with a nervous chuckle and a full-face blush. Wow. Dayo wasn't superb at flirting, but this was too hilarious to not repeat later. "You are used to having burdens, then?" They reached her cabin, but since he'd asked a question, Dayo didn't open the door. She simply turned and leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest casually. Dayo didn't want to play up what she contributed back home, but stopping a civil war was only a step above routine.

"I mean, where I'm from, everybody had to pitch in, right? You got settlements needing food and bedding, people needing rescued, raider nests needing clearing. I'm a lady of many hats, as Nick… a guy I know said."

Cullen's face softened. "I am sorry you are away from your home. I'm sure you miss your friends and family."

"Oh, don't give me the puppy-dog eyes. I'll miss them, yeah, but I'm sure they're fine," Dayo said. "My friends will survive without me, and there's no family to speak of. Besides, I'm going to go ahead and assume that once we've settled this mess, there will be a sincere effort to send me back. If I got here, there has to be a return route _somehow_."

Cullen nodded, his face showing the uncertainty that Dayo refused to even consider. "I will do everything in my power to aid you, once that time comes."

"Nice and dramatic, huh, Commander?" Dayo grinned, straightening so she could punch him in the arm. Maybe too friendly, by the look on his face. These people needed to lighten up.

His reply was interrupted by another yawn from her, and he shifted to open the door. "Please, Miss Dayo. You need rest."

"Call me 'miss' again and I'll punch your face next," was the casual threat she tossed over her shoulder as she walked in. She heard his chuckle before the door closed.

It was the last sound she heard before she collapsed face-down in her bed.


	3. Chapter 3: That Radstag Looks Sick

**Disclaimer:** I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in his weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

 **Author's note:** More notes this time! Varric's POV. This chapter is more broken up into smaller stories but is a little longer than the last two. I shortened travel times. In canon, it would take them 8 days to get from the Hinterlands to Redcliffe on horseback, and ain't nobody got time for that. Here, she starts thinking Templars vs Mages, and in chapter 4 she chooses for real. Sorry for any extra typos this time around; I'm getting back into work (as a teacher) and my sleep schedule is still adjusting. I spent less time editing this chapter than usual and more time napping.

Carre: Thanks for the review! Dayo will flirt with everybody in earshot and is just surprised when people flirt back. She doesn't so much swing both ways as she is desperately holding onto the rope while it flails about. I still am not quite sure if she'll be romancing any companions, but if so, she will have a tough time choosing.

I got a request for Dayo's SPECIAL status. Hard question to answer. She's higher than Level 1, so I guess I'll just give relative amounts? Perception (a good amount in reading people) and luck are high, second two is agility and charisma. Her lowest are strength, endurance (she's a lean sprinting machine), and intelligence. She learned about repairs, but she wasn't _great_ at science or book smarts.

To all of the rest of the questions: Thanks for your interest! I love the questions wondering about the science of this, and where it'll go; I'm wondering and researching too, which is like 80% the reason I'm writing this.

 **Chapter 3: That Radstag Looks Sick**

Varric had taken to hanging out by an open fire near the hut they were keeping Dayo in. The location was coincidence, probably, but it was a good coincidence that allowed him to spot her as she exited right after dinnertime, rubbing her eyes, having slept since Cullen walked her back at noon.

The kid was going to be one hell of a story.

She cleaned up nice. Before sealing up the Breach, she had the grime of a person who actively avoided bathing, even accidentally. But now that there wasn't an inch of dirt covering her face and hair, she looked more human. Her strawberry blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders, one curl brushing her cheek. She'd weathered some rough times, but the clothes hid most of her scars. Besides the glowing mark on her hand, Varric wouldn't single her out in a crowd. Maybe that was a good thing for the Herald of Andraste. He couldn't tell yet. This still felt like prologue.

"Yo, kid!" he called out, holding up a hand in case his height made it hard to see him. She paused, turning to smile at him before jogging over. Dayo was the sort of open person Varric enjoyed interacting with. She didn't shoot down every joke like a Seeker he knew.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Too well." Dayo pulled a face. "I feel groggy. I'm more used to catching a few z's on the move. Not three solid days of sleep followed by naptime, you know?"

Varric hoped he lived long enough to write this all down. The girl who'd been summoned from hell, chatting casually with him about naps. "How are you holding up with all of this?" he asked.

Dayo went and hopped up to sit on a ledge beside him. "I mean, I guess it could be worse. I get to be somewhere with trees and two moons, which is neat. We only had the one. I'm not arrested."

"Yet."

"Hey, I started off by saying it could be worse. And I guess you guys have water to spare for baths, huh?" Dayo grinned. "My face feels weird."

"Your face probably had to be excavated."

"I liked to think of the dirt as 'nature's armor,'" she scoffed. "A little dirt was better than a lot of rads, besides."

Varric shook his head. He had no idea what she was talking about, but decided to just improvise based on context. "Just keep in mind that here, bathing is less 'optional.' You hungry?"

Dayo made a pathetic face and placed her hand on her stomach. "I feel like I haven't eaten in three days."

"More like a month, with how bony you are. Come on, I'll show you where to get food." Varric hoped having the Herald around would soften the cook into giving them the choice bits.

She hopped off the ledge and started to follow Varric. "The cook here does some good work to feed so many, and-" He looked over his shoulder to see an empty space where Dayo once stood, then found her again near a merchant.

"Sounds like she can't afford that much," Dayo insisted. Varric blinked at the girl. How did she so quickly insert herself into an argument between a Chantry sister and a vendor just starting to pack up for the night? "We're in the middle of a war. Good people are hurt."

"And what, I give up my profits?"

"Listen to yourself talk. You're holding supplies at ransom from the very people here to protect you. Talk about biting the hand that feeds." Behind Dayo, the Chantry sister folded her arms in front of her in acrid agreement with the Herald.

The merchant narrowed his eyes at Dayo, who stared unflinchingly back until he slouched where he stood. "Fine, fine! We'll renegotiate tomorrow. I'm going to bed!" Varric jogged over as the Chantry sister thanked Dayo profusely before walking away.

"I take my eyes off you for one second..."

"I just wanted to see what they were yelling about," Dayo replied sheepishly. "Nobody should be getting away with charging double their rate during war, yeah?" Varric rolled his eyes and placed a hand on her arm, leading her away once more. Dayo made a threatening 'I'm watching you' gesture at the packing vendor as she followed.

Soon, the smell of the stew greeted them as they got to the front of the Chantry. Around them sat many of Haven's soldiers and craftsmen, eating and talking quietly, both inside and out of the building. He'd been right, that Dayo would get the choice bits. He'd been wrong that being in her proximity would afford him the same attention, and frowned at his bowl holding mostly broth and vegetables. What he wasn't expecting was that Dayo would notice, and smoothly switch bowls with him without so much a how-do-you-do the moment the cook wasn't looking.

"She put too much stuff in mine," Dayo complained, keeping her voice low and private. "I haven't eaten in three days, you know? If I tried to eat all that, I'd puke." She took her bowl and sipped the broth.

"Right," Varric said, finding an unoccupied ledge to sit down. He wouldn't argue, not this time. "You going to sit down to eat?"

"Ugh, I've been sitting down a little overmuch," Dayo said with a wink. "I think I'll walk around a little, yeah?"

Varric watched her move around from his perch, taking mental notes. Their new 'Herald of Andraste' strolled around, listening in on conversations and joining occasionally. For a good portion of the people nearby, it seemed she was listening to complaints they had. Not surprising, since people knew at least that she was in some position of power, and that's what they were wont to do. More surprising was Dayo's ready agreement to help whoever she talked to. She'd agreed to try to fetch lost notes for the healer, herbs for a Chantry mother, and iron for the quartermaster before she had moved out of Varric's earshot.

The Herald was laughing with a larger group of soldiers over something one had said, almost spilling some soup.

She did eventually make her way back around to Varric, shoveling in the last of her vegetables into her mouth, one cheek bulging. "You remind me of someone, kid," Varric said. Someone else who tended to compulsively aid others.

Dayo grinned, the action causing a bit of thick broth to trickle down her chin. "Is it my rugged good looks?" she said jokingly, muffled by food, before swallowing her mouthful and wiping her chin off on the sleeve of her jacket.

"If I said yes, Hawke would smack me," Varric snorted. "You could just talk with the Seeker if you're bored. I'm sure she'll have some orders soon."

"Cass is the Seeker, right? But if I waited for her, then how would I know what needs to be done?" Dayo asked, her tone implying that he was a little bit of an idiot.

Her gaze shifted quickly to over Varric's shoulder, and he turned just in time to see Cassandra approach the two with a clink of metal. "Do you ever take off your armor?" Dayo asked, teasing.

"No," Cassandra replied simply, and Dayo hid her laugh behind her marked hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a million caps," Dayo said.

"...I will assume that means you are more rested. We must discuss our next step. Meet us tomorrow in the war room at noon; we will prepare to move out then."

"That'll give me enough time in the morning to look for that journal," Dayo murmured to herself.

"What?" Cassandra asked.

"Hey, Cassie, you know where to find elfroot?"

"I... admit I do not know." Varric liked seeing the Seeker off-balance, and it seemed to be a specialty of Dayo's. "Perhaps our local storyteller can offer his aid."

"Nah, I'll figure it out." Dayo finished off the last of her broth, handing her empty bowl to Cassandra, who took it without thinking. "I'm going to bounce. I doubt I'll get much sleep at this point, but I have a lot to think about." With a pat to her belly, she saluted them and sauntered away.

The two watched her go. "What's your opinion on her?" Cassandra asked.

Varric decided to not play up his surprise at being asked about his opinion, because for once, he just wanted to give it without a production. "Keep her around, Seeker," he said. "I want to see how this story goes."

* * *

"Okay, so the Fade is some kind of Beyond, where the gods live. Or God. Maybe. There's a Black City, okay. Mages can tap into it for magic. We go there when we dream. And the Veil separates this world from there, so the rifts are like tears in the Veil. Cool, cool. But… _how_ does magic work?"

Dayo had spoken true that she wasn't used to sleeping very much, and had been up far before the others. Varric had gotten up and watched Dayo run around all morning to complete the tasks she had been given. Now she was by Solas, asking him question after question about magic. At least he was patient.

"How… it works?" Solas asked, raising a brow. Dayo looked at Varric.

"Don't look at me. All I know is that dwarves can't touch the place."

"Right, and dwarves don't dream," Dayo murmured. "I just don't get magical properties. How can one source help someone separately shoot fire and ice without changing its nature?"

"It's _magic_ ," Solas said. "It is not like explaining how trees grow, or water freezes. The Fade shapes itself to our will."

"Hmm." Dayo nodded, slowly. "I guess that makes sense. And you're an apostate? That's a mage that's not in a Circle?" She frowned. "And all mages have to go to those?"

"Yes. The Templars claim it's a way to keep mages from turning evil."

"By locking them up under constant supervision? I'm sure that's never backfired in the history of forever," Dayo snorted. That earned a smile from Solas, and a small nod. "You wouldn't imagine the sort of shit they got up to in Vaults; talk about failed social experiments." Solas' smile dropped into confusion. Dayo looked up into the sky, the sun almost at noon. "Well, it's been a good talk and all. I have a meeting, but I'll be back with more questions, yeah? Like what you meant about sleeping in old ruins."

"And maybe we can discuss your world," Solas suggested. "I have many questions. I'm curious how you can dream, but there are no mages."

"You got it, Cap'n," Dayo said with a mock salute before going to jog into the Chantry.

"She is rather unassuming. I am surprised. I wonder if she realizes how heavy her burden is," Solas mused once Dayo was out of their sight.

"You're not the only one with that thought, Chuckles," Varric said. "I'd go get ready. They're preparing to leave, and if you want to go with, get ready to move."

Dayo soon reemerged with Cassandra, her unhappy look explained by their decision to go to Val Royeaux and attempt to negotiate with the Chantry. Varric would be about as thrilled as a mouse in a trap if he were her, so he didn't poke fun at the frown she wore as they left Haven on foot. The trip to Val Royeaux would take just under a week, and besides the occasional question that the three fielded from the Herald, she turned out to be a fairly chill travel companion. Sure, she only slept for at most five hours every night and seemed to be okay with no breaks, but Varric set her straight on the latter. She also tended to want to explore and touch everything, simply assuming they would have her back. Thankfully, bears weren't common on well-traveled roads in this area.

"They want to arrest me, right?"

Varric looked up over the campfire they'd set up, only a day away from their destination at this point. "You bet your ass, but not everybody does. No group is full of people that have the exact same ideas."

"Not even if you build them that way," Dayo joked. "Okay. That's true. So maybe I can win them over?"

"You can certainly try, kiddo." The confirmation was met with a firm nod.

As they traveled, the forest around them gently gave way to manicured farms before heading into managed hiking trails. Once they crossed the gates into Val Royeaux, Dayo out a low whistle. "Damn, this place is… uh. Fancy as fuck."

"How'd you know the official motto of Val Royeaux?" Varric asked.

"Varric! Stop telling lies," Cassandra chided, hiding a smile.

"What kind of stone _is_ this?" Dayo asked, already distracted by running her fingers over the statue bases around them.

One of Leliana's agents, obvious by the clothing she wore, ran to meet them. "Lady Herald! Templars are here," she said, dropping to one knee. "The Chantry seems to think they will protect them from… from the Inquisition."

"Oh shit," Dayo eloquently stated.

"Um, y-yes, my Lady," the spy said.

"So we should… go meet them." Dayo shrugged and gave a half-smile at the looks on her companion's faces at the casual remark. "What? They think we're a threat. So let's go not be a threat and prove them wrong. If it turns out we have to be a threat, then I suppose we already have the reputation for it." She took off in a jog to the town center, and there was nothing to do but follow.

"I hope she doesn't plan on taking on a group of Templars," Varric muttered to Solas. "There might be a lot of them, and a limited amount of us." Solas didn't reply.

Dayo easily found the crowd surrounding a stage and approached, craning her neck near the back of the crowd while the others caught up. Varric didn't miss how the Chantry mother up on the platform saw her and immediately launched into a speech about mourning the Divine Mother. "And now our murderer, the so-called Herald of Andraste, the false prophet-"

"Hi! My name's Dayo." Varric's mouth fell open as Dayo squeezed to the front. "Oops, 'scuse me, watch your toes, I-there we go! Hey, yeah, so, turns out there's maybe a bigger enemy! I'm not it, so-"

"You are too late! The Templars will stop you!" Cassandra pushed forward to Dayo's side as the Mother pointed out an approaching group of soldiers, who began climbing the steps onto the platform. People began giving Dayo a wide berth, so it was easy enough for Varric to see what was going on from his spot safely towards the back. "They will put an end to this charade known as the Inquisition, and-"

The leader, an older man with graying hair and a perma-sneer, got to the top and put a sharp end to the rant. His fist almost casually collided with the Chantry mother's skull, knocking the older woman to the ground. Dayo let out a cry of disbelief, and if the crowd hadn't thinned, Varric would have missed the sight of Cassandra restraining her against drawing her knives and jumping up on stage. Now people were truly scattering, not wanting to be in the middle.

"What the fuck, man? I thought you were here for us," she growled. "Why smack around old ladies when you can pick on someone more your speed?"

"The heretics formed a ragtag group, called it the Inquisition, and now you think you are our equals?" the man sneered.

"Lord Seeker Lucius!" Cassandra gasped.

"Seeker? Like you, Cass? Aren't they the good guys who keep the Templars in check and all?"

"The Templars are in the right to purge the mages like rats ahead of a plague," Lucius scoffed, heading down the stage. The crowd stayed at a safe distance to watch it unfold.

"Oh, well. I mean, you're wrong, my dude," Dayo said, pulling out of Cassandra's grasp. Did she have a death wish? "We weren't _really_ here to start shit, just to look for help closing the hole in the sky and save the world. I'm hearing a soft 'no' from you lot." Varric had to admit, if he wasn't already on her side, he might want to join up. She was far from verbose, but she spoke sincerely, and that sincerity was charming... if potentially dangerous.

"Nobody here would help you. Your trip is in vain."

Dayo wrinkled her nose. "...so you came to do what, preen with an audience? If you needed validation, you could just pay someone to tell you you're pretty." Death wish confirmed.

Lord Seeker Lucius advanced on Dayo. He was fully armored, hand on the hilt of his sword, and had almost a foot on the girl, but she didn't budge even an inch. "I came here to witness the group, and found it lacking. Not even enough to laugh at."

Dayo's eyes narrowed, and Cassandra moved instinctively as she raised both hands to flip him off. Ah, one commonality between her world and their's. "Sit on it and twirl-"

Cassandra's gloved hand slapped over Dayo's mouth, pulling her back away from the Lord Seeker before he drew his sword. "Lord Seeker Lucius, you cannot mean this," she pleaded.

"The Inquisition, and the Chantry, are beneath me," he spat. "You have proven nothing." And with that, they watched him and his group of Templars march off, helpless to stop them.

Dayo was finally released when the Templars were out of earshot. Still, her glare spoke volumes. "What a waste of air," she huffed, crossing her arms. "And time. What gives? I figured the Templars would at least hear us out. It's like he _wants_ the Breach."

"Lord Seeker Lucius has been in charge for two years. I thought he would see reason," Cassandra said mournfully. "This is completely unlike him. Something must have happened, or he would not act like this."

"Maybe…" Dayo headed back to see to the woman who'd been slinging vitriol earlier. The sisters had been hovering uselessly as the old woman sat up, watching with wide eyes as Dayo knelt beside their Chantry leader.

"You here to gloat?" the Chantry mother hissed, in pain.

"Shut up, hold still," Dayo said. Her slim hand, the marked one, slipped underneath the Chantry head-covering to gingerly inspect the wound. The mother hissed, but did as ordered, as much out of surprise as anything. "Oh, you're definitely going to have a goose-egg in no time. You dizzy?" Dayo asked, withdrawing her hand and checking the woman's eyes much more closely. "What day is it?"

"If you still seek Chantry help, it's useless," she growled. The sisters around her seemed much more hesitant to join in on her hate this time around, though.

"Not an answer to my question…"

"We don't have the resources even if we wanted to aid a false prophet. Begone, demon!"

"How many fingers am I holding up," Dayo continued, flipping her off.

"Dayo!"

Dayo stood, leaving the mothers and sisters gaping after her as she jumped off the stage, with a matching look on Cassie's face. "I tried. You're a bitch, but I guess I still hope you don't get a concussion. Come on, we're leaving."

The group headed back the way they came, dejected at the waste of two week's travel. "I do not think we are going to find any aid here," Cassandra said, moments before an arrow whizzed by Dayo's head, barely missing her nose. "By the Maker!" Dayo looking blankly at where the bit of wood had embedded itself in the stone. Cassandra had drawn her sword, but when there was no further attack forthcoming, she walked over and picked up the arrow, a bit of paper tied to the shaft with a red ribbon.

"A note," she said, handing it to Dayo after a quick scan. Dayo stared at that, and handed it back.

"What's it say?"

"You can't read?" Solas blurted out, having stayed mostly out of the way up until this point. Varric didn't blame Chuckles; Orlais was not known for its stellar treatment of elves.

"I can't read _this_ ," Dayo huffed, shooting him an irritated glare. "It isn't English."

"It alludes to knowing a man seeking your harm. And in order to know his location, it says to find red objects around here-"

"Scavenger hunt!" Before Cassandra could say it was a waste of time, Dayo was already searching.

Cassandra groaned, muttering something about a long day. "She is going to be a handful, huh?" Varric asked Cassandra.

"The message might be some sort of help," Solas pointed out, leaning on his staff, the three watching their Herald. "We did not find the allies we anticipated, but there are still those who wish to aid us."

"Excuse me?"

Cassandra, Varric, and Solas turned to a messenger, taking their eyes off of where Dayo had been shuffling around in bushes. "I have a message from Enchanter Vivienne. She requests an audience with the Lady Herald."

Cassandra delicately took the heavy stationary, and the messenger bowed and hurried off. "I rest my case," Solas said. "As tales of the Inquisition grow, we shall have more wanting to join our numbers."

"Found one!" Dayo said, running up with a leaf in her hair. "There was a note attached to this scarf." She handed the red bit of cloth to Cassandra, a bit of parchment pinned to it. "Let's go find the rest."

Cassandra's shoulders slumped, and Varric saw the exact moment Cassandra just gave in. "We… might as well," she sighed, defeated.

It took the better part of an hour to find all the clues, and a good half hour to convince Cassandra that it would be a good idea to go to where the clues pointed. Varric focused on the good idea; Dayo just insisted it would be fun. As they headed out of the city, they were again stopped.

"...Grand Enchanter Fiona? You're the leader of the mage rebellion. Isn't it dangerous for you to be here? Did you not see the group of Templars?" Solas inquired, Dayo shuffling closer with interest.

"It was worth the risk. I come merely to offer help from the mages in Redcliffe in closing the Breach," Fiona said. "We would be a far better-"

"Oh good, help. Yeah, we'll meet you guys in Redcliffe to talk," Dayo butted in, immediately accepting for them without letting Fiona finish her argument.

Cassandra threw up her hands.

* * *

"Get up. We should train."

Dayo looked up from where she'd been using her fighting dagger to carve a hunk of wood into a small dog. "...uh? Since when?" she asked.

Varric had noted Cassandra was wound up tight. The clues had led to the elf Sera, or rather Red Jenny, and then to a corrupt noble. They'd fought his guards before ending him, down at least one enemy. "That last fight wasn't against mindless monsters," Cassandra said. "It was against trained soldiers. If they had been more awake, and not missing their trousers…"

Dayo grinned. "Heh. That was hilarious." And Sera's doing. She and Sera had gotten along like a house on fire, Sera deciding to meet them at Haven. "Come on, it wasn't that bad."

"Actually, Smalls…"

Her mouth fell open. "Varric! Betrayal!"

"You literally said yourself you're not used to those things," Varric continued. "And it shows. So get used to them." He could see it now; Cassandra was worried. A few slices had been awfully close. Dayo's speediness wouldn't always be her savior.

"I…" Dayo sighed. "Yeah, I know. Okay."

She stood, following Cassandra to a clearing. Cassandra was more used to a sword, but she had a few things to say about stance, and how Dayo moved her daggers. It wasn't much, but Dayo listened. As it neared closer to bedtime, she'd improved. She wasn't able to land a hit on Cassandra using the branches they'd found, though, and was groaning about it.

"With more practice, someday you will," Cassandra promised. The training had helped her relax; her own way of protecting Dayo. He got it. This all felt so fragile, even to him.

"Wait, let me… try something," Dayo said, flicking a few knobs on her Pip-Boy. "Ready?"

Cassandra frowned, but readied her branch.

Dayo darted forward and slammed one branch down. Cassandra easily blocked it, but then Dayo spun on her toes with a quickness she hadn't shown before. Solas and Varric stiffened at it, their casual attention now intense. Cassandra only barely dodged the second hit, and Dayo brought the branch up and broke through her defense. It slammed against Cassandra's jaw.

Dayo jumped away, as surprised as anybody. "Holy shit! I did it! ...fuck, I'm sorry. You okay?"

"How… how in the world did you do that?" Cassandra demanded, rubbing her sore jaw.

Dayo held up her Pip-Boy. "This. It has a program called VATS on it. Vault-Tec Assisted… actually, that wouldn't make sense. It helps me aim."

Cassandra was speechless. "Why did you not use this during the fight?" she asked.

"There's a limit. I have to kill them in four swings before it has to recharge," Dayo said. "And this is the first chance I've had to test it. I didn't know if I'd get them with it."

"You got me," Cassandra said wryly, rubbing her jaw. It would bruise, Varric knew.

"...sorry again."

Cassandra shook her head. "No, this is good to know, but it will not stop your training. You will need to know how to handle yourself in a fight, if your attacker is not downed after four hits."

"If I had my guns, I bet you a million caps I wouldn't need four whole attacks."

"Guns?" Solas said from his seat by the fire.

Dayo turned to him. "...weapons," she said. "I can use my Pip-Boy to organize them, but I don't think I came here with my bag."

"Was that the thing you had, in the vision?" Varric asked.

"Yeah. But that was just a pistol." Dayo smirked. "Gimme a combat rifle, and I would've blown that shadow's head off." Varric wasn't sure he wanted Dayo to have these 'guns,' especially ones more powerful than that 'pistol.' If she did, there was always the chance the enemy could get ahold of one.

"What's our next step, Cassie?" Dayo asked, the two going to sit down with the group once more.

"We will head to the Hinterlands first. There is a man there, Master Dennet, who can help the Inquisition with horses."

"Hmmm," Dayo said. "And horses are… important?"

"Go to sleep, Dayo. Once we have the horses, then we can meet with the mages in Redcliffe. Just to see what they have to say."

* * *

 _Bip. Bip bip. Bip bip bip._

The group looked over at Dayo at the sudden noise from her Pip-Boy. They'd just gotten to the Hinterlands on their way to Master Dennet and his horses, when it started acting up.

"Uh, that means there's some sort of radiation nearby," Dayo said, nervously. "That's never a good thing."

"What could be causing this radiation?" Cassandra asked, hand on her sword hilt.

"It isn't something you can cut through, Cassie, it's—rift!"

The four turned the corner in time to see a glowing rift spit out a monster. Varric cursed as he fell back, shooting off a volley of attacks while Dayo and Cassandra moved in close. They'd heard rumors of rifts, but even though Varric could now obviously hear its crackling energy, the Pip-Boy's noise had distracted them until it was too late.

"Curie! To your left!" Dayo shouted.

Cassandra almost didn't know to react to this name but looked in time to dodge a reaper, the demon's claws slicing uselessly in air. Dayo cut down the wraith that had focused on her friend while Cassandra cleaved her own assailant in half. Working together, the four of them slew the demons pouring through the tear, and Dayo closed it for good.

"I knew that shit looked like radiation," Dayo snarled, looking at her Pip-Boy. The moment the rift went away, it had fallen silent again. "Motherfu—huh. There's no… it hasn't picked up any extra radiation damage," she said, squinting at her screen as she mused aloud. "Must be picking up the energy, but it doesn't seem to be actually hurting us. Wonder why the mark isn't setting it off?"

"You called me Curie."

Dayo looked up. "What?"

"Curie. You said that name, instead of Cass, or Cassie, as you like to say." Cassandra looked curious and maybe a little cross.

The crossness vanished when Dayo flushed. "Oh. Uh. Did I?" Dayo bit her lip, fidgeting. "Well. She's one of my friends from back home, so it's not bad, it's just… your hair, and your name, right? You look a lot like her. Sorry."

Cassandra looked okay to drop it, but now Varric felt his own curiosity creeping in. "Why so red, Herald?" he asked.

"None of your business, short-stack," Dayo huffed before stomping off back to the trail. "Let's go find these whores."

"Horses."

" _Whatever_ , Varric."

* * *

"...what is that? It looks like a diseased Radstag." Dayo paused. "Or a Radstag that isn't diseased. Something along those lines?"

Cassandra frowned at her, lowering her voice so as to not offend Master Dennet. He'd graciously agreed to give them horses, after they cleared out his wolf and bandit problem. "It's a _horse_ , Dayo. Now get on."

"You want me to do _what_?"

Dayo looked nervous, which wasn't a good sign. Horses tended to sense that.

"A horse is to be ridden. How did you get around before?"

"The legs my mama gave me!" Dayo protested. "Will it even let me try to get up? How the hell do I climb on this thing, pole-vault up?"

"It is trained. And it is much faster than walking around." Cassandra brought the horse closer to Dayo so she could show the saddle. It was a chestnut mare, who looked calm despite her future rider's trepidation. "Put your foot in here, grab onto this part of the saddle, and then hoist yourself up. A tall child could do it." Cassandra climbed onto her own horse briskly.

Dayo paused, looking over Cassandra, a bit of light dawning in her eyes. "Huh. Now that I think about it, there's a statue like this. Near the Old North Church… you don't really look like Paul Revere."

"Get on your horse."

"If you'll say 'one if by land, two if by sea.' I saw that in a museum somewhere."

" _Dayo._ "

"Okay, okay!"

They didn't so much teach Dayo to ride as hook her horse up to the back of Cassandra's, but an hour into their journey, she was rubbing her horse's neck, cooing at her. Once she was more comfortable with the beast, Solas pulled up next to her and spent time teaching her better stance in the saddle, and then how to steer. At one point, he untied her horse, and by the time they got near Redcliffe, Dayo was enamoured of it.

"So, you enjoying your demon animal?" Varric joked.

"I'm naming him Yao Guai," Dayo said proudly.

"Her."

"The name works either way." Dayo rubbed her horse's neck fondly.

"Might have a name already."

"Uh-oh, because Yao Guai already loves her new name, doesn't she?" Yao Guai flicked her ears and gave a soft whinny, like she knew they were talking about her.

There was a rift near the entrance of Redcliffe, announced early by Dayo's Pip-Boy, and the group dismounted their horses a safe distance away. The beeping grew louder, and then the group was going after the demons pouring out. The four were starting to move together as a team, which Varric liked the look off as he stood on a rock and fired arrows to keep the demons attacking Dayo and Cassandra busy. Dayo jumped up onto a rock before leaping back towards a demon. Varric fired a poison-tipped arrow from his crossbow, hoping it would slow the reaper demon down even a little.

As he watched, the arrow slowed in midair, like it was traveling through molasses. So did Dayo, her fall becoming a casual descent with her hair floating around as if she was underwater. The look on her face let Varric know that he wasn't just imagining things. He tried to turn to the others, to warn them, but he couldn't move fast enough.

Then the effect was washed away and Dayo landed, hard, just barely missed by the demon's claws thanks to the arrow finally buried in its shoulder. She rolled away, unsteady on her feet, and the moment she was out of range the shift happened again. Her running slowly, then quickly, nearly tripped her up again. Cassandra wasn't doing too much better, eyes furious as she watched a direct hit approaching her armor.

The rift was altering time.

It was a hard fight, but they managed. Once the rift was sealed, Dayo flexed her fingers, shivering and bloodier than when they'd started. "That's not good," she said. "This can't be a coincidence. A weird magic thing happening in a town where our mages are hiding out?" She shook her head. "Seven levels of fucked up. Keep an eye out." Not that she needed to tell them that.

It was quick work finding the mages, but it quickly turned into a problem. Grand Enchanter Fiona was not only now working under a man from Tevinter, but did not recall meeting them.

Dayo looked confused by the whole thing, and that was shifting to a slow-boiling anger. "Ah, so you'll graciously offer us your new indentured mages?" she said, tense, studying the man. Magister Alexius smirked, folding his hands in front of him. His son, Felix, was standing behind him, but didn't seem as bad as his dad. A little pale, maybe.

"Of course, it would require negotiations," he purred, and Varric felt dirty. His voice was like oil, dripping down his back. "We can talk it out in Castle Redcliffe."

Dayo and Alexius looked at each other for a long moment. Cassandra was silent, leaving the decision up to Dayo. "...I will discuss it with my advisors," Dayo finally said, carefully.

"Of course," Magister Alexius said, as if being gracious. With his son, he started towards the door, but suddenly Felix stumbled as they descended a small flight of stairs. Dayo staggered as she caught him before he hit the ground. "Felix!" Alexius gasped, running to his son. "We shall continue this later," he said, sincerely a worried father. "Felix, come along."

Dayo was looking down at her hand. Once they were in a less open space, she handed something over to Cassandra: a note. "Felix slipped it to me. What does it say?"

"A request to go to the Chantry here," Cassandra said. "You are in danger, it says. But can we trust it?"

"Let's take this back to Haven," Solas suggested. "This seems… suspicious."

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Dayo asked, stretching the word out in a parody of surprise. "You think this is… a trap?! Why would you suspect these obviously trustworthy people of such a despicable trick?"

Solas frowned at her.

"I'm kidding," Dayo said, unsheathing her daggers. "Let's visit the Chantry first, yeah? We shouldn't keep whoever it is waiting."

A smile played at her lips. "If it's a trap, let's just make them regret setting it up."


	4. Chapter 4: Andrastic Measures

**Disclaimer:** I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in his weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

 **Author's note:** Sera's POV. We're collecting allies like bad habits, we pick a side, and close that Breach (finally). I love me a good underdog. As an aside, the next update might take 2 weeks instead of one. I'm also working on editing the first few chapters because I keep seeing mistakes, ugh.

Reviews: Thanks a million times over for the reviews, favs, and follows again! Every time I see them it makes my whole day, even if I can't respond. You guys are awesome.

Carre: Thank you SO MUCH for the comment on transitions! Uploading the doc had deleted my separation markers; I thought I'd fixed it after, but I guess not. Chapter 3's been updated and yeah, SO much more readable. Since I'm moving more into smaller stories that skip over some of the main action (simply because I don't want to rewrite the game) it was very important.

Guest: Dayo's past in the Commonwealth, and maybe her relationships there, will be explored in later chapters. I do like dropping hints, like her being flustered at the comparison between Cass and Curie. Personally, I just kept yelling at Curie to get out the gotdamn line of fire but called her Cassie all the time.

 **Chapter 4: Andrastic Measures**

The bar in Haven wasn't terrible, and Sera staked out a table as her own. She could at least ogle the barmaid when she wasn't looking. She was waiting for the Herald to come back, though, and once the rumor of her approach reached the tavern, Sera was on her feet and out the door.

The Herald of Andraste. Threw her for more than a little bit of a loop when she wasn't some holy paladin-type there to deliver them from evil. She looked normal, more than normal, and even laughed when Sera announced she'd stolen the douche-noble's guards' britches. Sera had done it almost in defiance: _I'll help you, but on my terms_. And this girl had readily accepted it. Accepted her. Laughed again when they fought the pantsless soldiers.

She had a nice laugh, real genuine-like.

Sera hung back behind a small crowd as she watched Dayo walk through the gates, talking closely with a man who was obviously a mage. His outfit was ridiculous, way too many belts with a shoulder randomly left bare. Even his mustache was too much. Sera trailed at a distance until Dayo looked over her shoulder and caught her eye like she'd known Sera was there. She must have looked like she wanted to say something, because Dayo waved at her and paused for her to catch up.

"Magister Alexius is manipulating the mages, right, Dorian?" Dayo was saying as Sera jogged to close the gap between them. "So if we take him out of the picture, we get their help. Simple! Way better than the Templars. I'm sure the advisors will agree."

The man named Dorian wrinkled his nose. "I'd prefer to avoid killing Alexius if possible, but yes."

"Right. Because he was your old teacher in Tevinter. And your best friend's dad." Oh, okay, now Sera could place the accent.

"We should also keep him around for questioning," Dorian agreed. "He isn't the one pulling the strings, I'll tell you that now. He's answering to someone. We should try and find out who."

"This Elder One, right?" Dayo frowned, tapping her lip with a finger. "You said there were weird mages who want him in power."

"Tevinter Imperialists from my country who call themselves Venatori," Dorian said. "But we don't know anything about this Elder One, or what he really wants."

"Yeah, legit," Dayo said. "Hey Sera, we're going to storm a castle. Wanna come with?"

Sera raised a brow as the two stopped to look at her. The Seeker, the one with the stick up her ass, had long since peeled off to gather the other advisors, and the short dwarf was nearby but not in the conversation. Sera felt a little blindsided by the question, but she'd never let it show.

"Sounds like you're walking into a trap."

"Oh, definitely a trap," Dorian agreed.

"Knowing it's a trap is half the battle," Dayo said.

"The other half is actual battle, yeah? Alright, I'm in," Sera said. "But you're getting the mages? I don't know if I'm about that witchy life."

"I told the leader of the Templars to eat my entire ass. I may have burned that bridge," Dayo admitted sheepishly.

"...and you're the Herald of Andraste?"

"Probably not," Dayo said. "Besides, the mages aren't all bad. Maybe if we get a few more, they'll have one complete shirt between them." She gave a sidelong glance at Dorian before bursting into laughter at the look on his face. Sera joined in.

"Are you all mad? This is obviously a trap!"

Their little talk was interrupted by Cullen, approaching like a thundercloud. It hadn't taken Cassandra long to find the others. Leliana trailed behind with the Seeker, and Josephine brought up the rear.

"So? You only set up traps when you want people to stay out of something," Dayo argued, immediately jumping into the conversation. "Traps mean you're going in the right direction."

"Alexius sent us a letter of invitation," Leliana said in her normal calmness. "He's asking for the Herald by name. He speaks so highly of you, we're certain he wants to kill you."

"Motherfucker can try!"

Cassandra glanced at the nearby townsfolk, and Dorian. "We should move this somewhere else," she said. The group moved to Dayo's cabin for secrecy, but Sera stayed outside and shooed curious villagers away so nobody could really hear the yelling. They weren't exactly being quiet.

"You think they'll go along with it?" Sera asked Dorian, who had attempted to join in only to be denied.

"Dayo seemed very dead-set on this once she learned the mages were probably enslaved against their will," Dorian said. "And they both know I can help once we're inside. So… likely. Those I saw do tend to listen to her." He folded his arms, relaxing his stance as they waited for them to duke it out. "That man, the blond one. He carries himself like a Templar."

"Good eyes, Sparky," Varric said, walking up to join them. "Ex-Templar, current Commander Cullen."

"Is he always so uptight?"

"Yes," Sera and Varric said at the same time. "I've known him a while," Varric continued. "He's a serious guy."

"I've only known him a few days," Sera added. "He takes the chain of command a little too seriously." Though nobody would acknowledge it, Dayo was taking her place at the top of it.

The argument inside died down quickly enough, and after a good chunk of murmured planning, they emerged. "We'll leave for Redcliffe once our supplies are replenished; Leliana's troops will infiltrate to take out the Venatori threat, with us as the distraction-I mean, bait," Dayo announced proudly as they began going to do whatever tasks had been assigned them. Sera let Dorian head out first before going to follow Dayo. The Herald might be okay with a mage at her back, but it made Sera nervous.

Leliana passed Sera with hardly more than a sideways glance, moving almost silently over the snow as she beelined to Dayo. Sera was always a bit nervous around the Nightingale. Who wouldn't be, with all those stories floating around? But oh man, there was a strong chunk of hero worship there as well. Every time she looked at that serious, knife-edge gaze, well. Set her heart a-fluttering.

Leliana approached Dayo, stopping her with a hand on her arm. Dayo obeyed, turning to the spy. Sera's footsteps slowed, curious.

"I sent some agents back to the ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes, based on what we saw in the vision at the Breach." Leliana held up a small box, and Dayo reached to pop off the lid. "I believe this might be a perfect match to one of your belongings."

Dayo paused, her posture suddenly… closed off. "Woah."

Leliana watched closely as Dayo pulled it out, Sera squinting closely. Made of metal, it looked like an oddly-shaped crossbow handle. And just that. Dayo pulled a small metal square from her pocket, and as Leliana took in every detail, she shoved it into the bottom of the handle with a click.

"Keep yourself safe, Herald," Leliana murmured. She said something else in a low murmur, too quiet for Sera to hear. Dayo didn't acknowledge the comment, simply fiddled with the thing before tucking it into her trousers behind her back. Leliana disappeared into the shadows with Sera watching her. She needed tips on how to do that. Life was always improved with a dramatic exit.

"Where the hell is Solas?" Dayo asked. "We going in without him?" Dorian was meeting them there.

"And me," Varric said. "I'm… possibly expecting someone. Or a letter. Might be important."

Dayo looked over at Cass, then Sera. "You coming?" Sera raised an eyebrow at being asked, but appreciated the lack of assumption, and nodded. "Well, looks like it's just us. We should have a girl group name. How about the Femme Fatalities?"

"How about the Chargers?"

The entire group turned to the newcomer. He was standing beside them with his helmet tucked under his arm, wearing a small smile. Nonthreatening, which Sera supposed was on purpose. "Sorry, I was waiting for an opening to interrupt, and I think I found a good one. Name's Krem. I'm with the Bull's Chargers. We're a mercenary group who wanted to make contact."

"Mercenaries?"

"We do great work. Can cause a lot of change, for the good of the Inquisition. My boss, the Iron Bull, wants to chat with you about it. Make the proposal. He's hunting down some Venatori on the Storm Coast, which is a free sample of the information we could get to you."

"Be careful around swords-for-hire," Cassandra warned.

Dayo turned to Cassandra with an exasperated look on her face. " _All_ soldiers are swords-for-hire," she pointed out. "If I turned down every person who has a less-than-savory resume, I'd be the first to leave, Cassie. And we're already down a body, so let's not start getting picky."

She turned back to Krem. "We're on our way to Redcliffe Castle, so just keep that in mind when we make this detour. Lead the way, my dude."

* * *

The skirmish with Venatori happened just as promised, but Dayo singled out the leader of the Chargers and bee-lined right to him, deciding to start the interview mid-battle.

"So this is a group for hire?" Dayo shouted, ducking under a swing and rolling out of range of the warhammer being swung at her. "Why do you have horns?"

"I'm Qunari. I work for them," Iron Bull grunted, hauling off and slamming his great axe into two mages so hard they collapsed where they stood. Sera hopped up onto a rock with more ease than her attacker, shooting at his head as he attempted pursuit, trying to keep an eye on Dayo. The Venatori finally fell after she filled his chest with more than a couple arrows.

"Oh, Qunari, I've heard of you lot." Dayo ducked under a stone fist that a nearby mage had sent at her head, and then spun with a flash of steel, slicing two sharp lines across his chest. Suddenly an arrow sprouted from his eye; not down yet, but with half the vision he was half as accurate. Dayo saluted Sera. "How do you work for the Qunari?"

"I'm a spy for them."

"That's… ballsy to admit." Dayo finished the injured attacker off.

Iron Bull swung hard, and the last of the Venatori were flung a few feet back with the force of his attack. Impressive. He thunked his hammer into the sand and leaned against the handle. "I'll give you information. I'll give them information, enough to calm them down. I want to keep it open. The Qunari is, for now, curious. And the Chargers are useful." He motioned around them at the group he had, a ragtag assortment of people. "Strong, tough, fast. We'll more than make up our pay."

"Pay? How much?"

"Let your ambassador sort it out."

They frowned at each other.

"You _do_ look like a Brahmin," Dayo murmured, breaking the silence.

"Pardon?" Iron Bull was good at his job. He maintained his composure. Krem was giving Dayo a look like she was crazy, though, so Sera wasn't hearing things.

"You know." Dayo lifted her fingers and formed horns out of the side of her head, mimicking Iron Bull. "Moooooo."

He'd just admitted to being a spy, so Sera could easily see the guy mentally writing his first letter home. "Alright, Boss. When would you like me to start?"

"Uh, now is cool," Dayo said.

"Are you sure?" Cassandra asked, startled.

"We're down a man and about to walk into a trap. And Bull is built like a tank. So yeah." Dayo looked at the guy. "You still in? I mean, you heard the part where we're walking into a trap."

The letter home was becoming an essay; Sera would bet gold that it ended up being a dissertation by week's end. "Sounds like my kind of party, Boss," he confirmed.

"Cool. And my name is Dayo," she said. "Cassie's the boss."

"I would hardly confirm that," Cassandra shot back. "We need to be on our way."

"You got it… Boss." Dayo saluted and gave her a shit-eating grin. Iron Bull and Krem exchanged looks, with the shorter of the two looking quite happy with himself. Three guesses as to who had pushed to reach out to the Inquisition, and the first two didn't count.

The Chargers peeled off to head to Haven, and the Iron Bull traveled with them to Redcliffe. He was too large for any of their current horses, forcing them to move more slowly, but Dayo took it as an opportunity to ask him every question under the sun she could think of about Qunari. Iron Bull handled it relatively well, but decided to ask his own questions. Cassandra looked like she wanted to shit a brick, but said nothing when Dayo pretty much laid out everything.

"Another world?" Sera blurted out, news to her as well.

Dayo shrugged. "As far as I can figure." She grinned at Iron Bull. "You think your people back home will believe you?"

" _I_ don't think I believe you, Boss," Iron Bull said. "So yeah, they'll think you're crazy."

"I bet I could work that in my favor," Dayo said. "My crazy can close rifts, so I guess it's better than nothing. Maybe you could say it's some kind of Herald quirk?"

"Something Andraste told you, perhaps?" Bull asked.

"The only thing that talks to me is my gut, and my gut is saying that if I was hearing the voices of religious figures I barely know anything about, I'd be crazier than a Jet-addled raider."

Bull looked at Cassandra, who just shrugged. "If it's any consolation, I believe her," Cassandra said. "If not by her words, then maybe her belongings would convince you. You must have noticed her bracer."

"My good ol' Pip-Boy! Sensor of rifts and teller of time in a world without clocks." Dayo pumped her fist with the unwieldy bracer on it. "It says it's 11:34 AM, and that you guys need to invent the radio."

"See? Her crazy is almost coherent," Cassandra said.

Dayo snorted. "Really? I gotta try harder, then."

* * *

When Dayo walked confidently into the main hall of the castle with Magister Alexius staring them down, Sera almost wanted to turn tail and run. Fighting stuff head-on wasn't her specialty. Firing from shadows: that was more her speed.

"We should get down to business, yes?" Alexius purred, watching them like they were mice. "Arrange a use for these mages and get them to aid the Herald of Andraste?"

"Do the mages not get a voice-" Grand Enchanter Fiona tried to protest, finally, on behalf of her people.

"Wait, this is a trap, yeah?" Dayo interrupted. Cassandra stared at her, while Sera muffled an involuntary nervous laugh. Of course Dayo would just blurt it out. The chance of talking her way out of it was zero. "Well, he knows, and we know, and it's all gone to hell for him. So why beat around the bush?" She planted her hands on her hips. "We'd like to ask questions, but we know."

"Know what?" Alexius tried for the vague bit.

"That it's a trap. That you work for the Elder One. That you don't plan on doing jack-all for us. All of it."

"I told them, father," Felix said from Alexius' side.

"He could have saved you!" Alexius snarled, finally coming to his feet, his plan dissolving so fast he might be in danger of whiplash. Sera enjoyed seeing his composure finally crack, but she still felt nervous, like they were poking a rattlesnake.

"Who? The Elder One?" Dorian walked up from behind them like he owned the place.

"Dorian. I should have known you would involve yourself," Alexius said, his words dripping with contempt.

"You would never have gone for this otherwise. But nothing can save Felix."

"I tried to let you in on this, Dorian," Alexius said distastefully, "and now you won't even bother trying to save your friend! All because this wench with the stolen mark-"

"Oh, you know what this is?" Dayo said, holding up her hand. "Tell us."

"Venatori! The Elder One demands this woman's life," Alexius commanded. His face paled as the Venatori fell, Inquisition agents stepping out from behind them. The distraction had worked, letting Leliana's agents successfully infiltrate the castle. Soon there would be no Tevinter Imperialist in Redcliffe Castle.

Dayo and Dorian both approached to apprehend the man. Alexius fell back, hand clutching at his chest. "You don't even know the magnitude of your stolen gift, and yet you dare attempt to challenge the Elder One," Alexius snapped, then yanked his hand forward and held it up.

A pendant floated from his palm into the air, thrumming with a sort of sickly energy. Dorian shot out a hand, and Dayo began a quick run forward, halfway through drawing her daggers. They'd gotten almost to him when an explosion shook the room, throwing the party and every Inquisition agent to the ground with the power of its blast.

Sera's ears were still ringing with the noise as she lifted her head, noting that Dayo was nowhere to be seen. Dorian was likewise gone, merely ash left behind where they once stood. Sera's mouth was instantly dry, her shock muting the noise around her. He'd managed it. The Herald of Andraste was dead. They'd lost.

She'd run out of arrows making him pay.

Everybody surged back to their feet, going to attack all at once, but before they'd taken much more than a few steps there was another blinding flash. Magister Alexius cried out and fell back, and though Cassandra and Iron Bull held their position, Sera dove for cover behind a pillar. Weird, magicky things that startle weird, magicky _users_ was a no thank you, and Sera was smarter than that. She stuck her head out to keep an eye on the proceedings, and her mouth promptly fell open at the sight of Dayo and Dorian reemerging from the tear that had appeared. They landed on their feet and immediately whirled to face Alexius.

Sera wasn't dumb. She had to notice things very quickly in her line of work, and she was very good at her line of work. The things she noticed now, though, were confusing. The two were beat up, which, epicenter of explosion, okay that explains it. But some of the wounds looked patched up. Dayo had a bloody bandage around her upper arm she hadn't sported before, and Dorian was pressing a cloth to his forehead. They were both panting like they were fresh from battle, and both looked furious.

Before she could even start to think of sorting it out, Dayo reached back behind her and strode forward, grabbing the crossbow handle Sera had seen earlier. In a fluid motion, she raised the weapon and its tip exploded in a loud bang. Sera stuck safely behind her rock column as she watched Alexius' knee explode in red and he crumpled to the ground, and Dayo never stopped, until her weapon was pointed directly at his temple.

"Try it again, and you'll eat the next bullet," she ground out. "It's over." Alexius simply groaned.

Dorian running forward seemed to break the spell on everyone. The soldiers already there joined him to bind up Alexius, before they packaged him up for treatment and imprisonment. Dayo lowered the weapon, shoulders tense.

"What happened?" Sera asked, finally emerging from her hiding spot. Dayo glanced at her over her shoulder. What Sera saw set her off-balance. As she saw Sera, the rage melted away, and her eyes were deeply sad for a moment before she looked away.

"He sent us forward in time. We had to fight our way back. It… wasn't pretty."

She only turned fully when soldiers marched into the room. "Wow, now it's a real party," Dayo said, as none other than King Alistair approached. "Who're you?" She tucked her weapon back into its spot.

"The man who allowed the mages to stay here," King Alistair said, eyeing Dayo up and down. "Though I suppose that invitation is rescinded."

"I mean, fair," Dayo said. "Someone did take over the place because of them. Good timing, though, my man. You missed all the real fun."

"We—we cannot stay? But where will we go?" Fiona gasped, wringing her hands. Sera almost felt bad. Nowhere around was exactly welcoming to the mages right now.

Before anybody could say anything, Dayo's voice rang out. "They come back with us."

"What?" Alistair asked. King Alistair.

"We're the Inquisition," Dayo replied. "We came here looking for help, hopefully from the mages. They'll be helpful in sealing the Breach."

"Are you… the Herald of Andraste?" Alistair asked, brows raising high.

"Probably not, but that's the nametag I've been given for now. Um, they might've mentioned you in a meeting but I was tired. I suppose it's nice to meet you anyway."

"King Alistair."

"Oh, cool. You're the first king I've met." Dayo grinned at his incredulous look. "Well, first actual king. Mirelurk kings are way less cute."

"Dayo."

Dayo shrugged at Cassandra. "Okay. Let's get these mages back to Haven."

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "Under conscription, of course-"

"They are to be treated as any of our other soldiers," Dayo said, shooting Cassandra a hard, annoyed look. "As they are going to be working as such. I didn't free them just to make them slaves again."

"As allies?" Cassandra cried out, incensed. "Surely, we must be more cautious. We can have them under watch, maybe sequester them-"

"Where I'm from, locking someone up based on their circumstance of birth is an act of war," Dayo spat, and now Sera saw her mad, and focused, and driven. "I've heard how my world did it, pre-War. It didn't work out well. Doesn't really look like it was working for you guys, either. So, if you strive for peace? They work with us, their voice matters, or I walk."

"I… We shall discuss this later," Cassandra said, backing down but obviously put out. So was Sera. Maker's thumbs, they were just going to let the mages walk around Haven, free! Unwatched! But Sera also didn't voice her opinion.

The mages were going to help them seal the Breach, sure, but Dayo trusted them, and that counted for something.

* * *

"Hah!"

Sera jolted upright.

What the shit? She paused, and heard it again. "Hah!" Someone grunting from the training ground, loud enough to reach her window, and now she could hear the sound of metal _thunking_ into wood. Seriously? Someone was training? It was past midnight. Who the hell was still up? Everybody should be exhausted, after the busy day they'd had.

They'd gotten the mages to Haven, and though everybody was nervous at them wandering around nothing had happened. Just a bunch of scared people who knew they had a job to do, and that it might be the only reason they were free. They understood that they owed the Herald for that, at least. Sera claimed that as a good sign.

Sera yawned as she climbed out her window, wondering what the hell was making all this racket. She was ready to chew their head off when she actually peeked over the divider and saw the figure slicing at the mannequins with their daggers.

She couldn't help but simply watch for a moment as they wore themselves out under the moonlight. But Sera was never the quietest girl-so as whispery as she could, she called across the courtyard. "Hey, Herald," she hissed. "You have a quota to fill or something?"

Dayo reacted in her own way, immediately whirling to see who it was before attempting to play it off cool. Sera burst into giggles as Dayo leaned casually against the mannequin she'd been slicing just moments before, waving slightly with a dagger still in her hand. "Come up here before everybody sees you being a goof," Sera snorted, still curious as to why she was even awake. "Hurry. We have your reputation to maintain."

"Reputation?" Dayo chuckled, but went to enter the tavern. Sera wasn't sure how she got inside, since it was locked, but in a minute she was climbing out the window to go sit by her. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Yeah," Sera said. "But don't you apologize, Herald. I don't know what all happened, but something definitely did. You got insomnia?"

Dayo rolled a shoulder. "A little," she admitted, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Not the first time. After something big like that, I get keyed up easily. Working it off helps." Her breathing was long since calmed, and she looked up at the sky. "When Alexius sent me and Dorian to the future… I didn't much like what I saw."

"What had happened?" Sera asked, though she could guess.

"What you'd expect. Whoever this Elder One is, they'd had taken over. The sky looked polluted with the Breach, like he'd torn it open in a couple dozen places. Red lyrium, that radiated stuff Varric hates, it was everywhere. I eventually had to turn my Pip-Boy off because it kept giving away our position as we fought through the castle." Dayo sighed, tapping her toes against each other. "It was worse than home. I didn't know that could happen."

"Worse than…" Hell. Sera didn't finish the statement, but they both knew where she'd been going with that. "It ended up okay, though. Right?"

"It's…" Dayo rubbed her hand down her face, though by now the sweat had dried in the cool night air. "It's just, I hadn't been able to be there. I was shoved a year in the future. I hadn't been there, and solely because of that, it had all gone to shit. If that isn't living my worst fucking nightmare, I don't know what it is."

"Maybe spiders," Sera said automatically, cursing herself out silently in the same moment. This wasn't the time to joke. Yet Dayo still laughed. Quietly, but it wasn't hollow or anything.

"Already had that nightmare. I've also had the nightmare where I was giving a speech, but then someone pointed out I wasn't wearing pants, and they all started laughing. So, point taken. Still my worst nightmare, but just _barely_."

Sera fidgeted as the two sat in companionable silence. Her joke had eased some of Dayo's anxiety, but she still had questions.

"Hey, you…" Dayo looked over as Sera interrupted the quiet. "You looked at me real sad-like, after popping back into existence. What was that all about?"

Dayo didn't answer for a moment, trying to figure it out. "I didn't know that," she admitted. "But… maybe it was because when I was there, I saw you. And Cassandra, and Iron Bull. You all thought I had died in the explosion. They'd locked you up in cells, exposed you to red lyrium. You were all messed up. Terrified. Very non-Sera-y." She hugged her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. "It fucked me up, a little."

"That sounds… pretty bad."

"And Cassie's pissed at me."

Sera glanced over. Dayo sounded miserable. "How so, Dayo?" Sera asked, purposefully rhyming.

"I made the call on the mages, back in Redcliffe. But I know people aren't happy about it. I know everybody's angry about that. I know _you're_ kinda pissed," Dayo said, and Sera looked away, because she wasn't _wrong_. "But I'm not from here, and I just can't understand locking up all mages, no matter what."

"They're dangerous," Sera said. "They caused the Blight."

"Back home, we had no mages. It still got plenty dangerous."

That made Sera fall silent. An entire world, turned into wasteland, no magic necessary. She tried to remember all that Dayo had told Iron Bull, and how much she loved this place. Sera was a city elf, always had been, and tried to distance herself from her Dalish others, but she still couldn't imagine a world without proper trees.

"You ready to close the Breach?" Sera said, changing the subject.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I don't think it's over, though." Dayo frowned, unfolding herself to sit cross-legged. "There's still that Elder fuck."

"We get rid of the Breach, we get rid of everything he's done," Sera said. She wasn't convinced.

"The only thing he's done so far," Dayo murmured. She finally laid back to rest on the roof. "But maybe it'll force his hand. He might do something else… reveal himself to us."

"And you still want to do this?"

"I have to."

The two fell silent. This time it was less companionable, more terse. A big battle loomed ahead, full of unknowns, and neither she nor Dayo were dumb enough not to see it.

"Why did you choose me?"

Dayo blinked at Sera. "Huh?"

"You had to do a scavenger hunt in order to even talk to me. Why did you do it at all? You must have thought it was a waste of your time, busy saving the world and all."

Dayo sat up, frowning at Sera. "You kidding? That was the best possible way to get my attention!" Sera cocked her head slightly, and Dayo continued. "You knew ahead of time that I was coming, which meant you had a good network for information. You put a lot of effort into the invitation, so I didn't mind proving that we were worth it." Sera sucked in a deep breath, looking up at the stars. She joined on her terms. "Any regrets for setting up that meeting?"

Her reply came maybe a hair too quickly. "No."

The silence was a little more companionable. The threat still loomed overhead, but they certainly had some strength of their own.

Then:

"Could you shoot an apple off my head?"

"Yeah," Sera replied.

"Wanna do it while I try to cut the arrow out of the air?"

"Yeah."

At least Dayo wouldn't be awake alone.

* * *

"The mages have nobody watching them!" Cullen was furious, and Dayo had her arms crossed in front of her defensively. Cassandra was there, as was Leliana. Sera was hanging out nearby just outside of the War Room, wanting to see if someone came to their senses and conscript the mages. They could have abominations among them, easy.

"Concentration camps are evil," Dayo insisted. "More evil than these scared refugees."

"I knew I liked you." The group looked up as Dorian approached. "I think I'll go take a look at the Breach, but just wanted to throw in my thoughts. She and I saw what the future could hold. Closing the Breach is an important first step to fight this sort of thing."

"Fuck yeah."

Dorian grinned. "Such an eloquent lady. My respect for you grows with every passing moment."

Dayo pointed at him and winked, more than a little ridiculous in… was it flirting? With her, it was hard to tell.

"It will take time to organize these mages," Cassandra grumbled. "They're here as equals but have yet to pull their own weight. Maybe I should sic our Herald on them, see if they listen to her."

"The point is, we're unhappy," Cullen started.

"I did what I had to," Dayo grumbled, interrupting him. "I'm not going to apologize for doing what you told me to do."

That made them pause. "...yes. Your job was to get help closing the Breach," Cassandra said, measuring every word. "I don't mean to sound like… I'm not blaming you for this."

"Then fucking act it," Dayo said. She still didn't look at Cassandra, shoulders hunched. "I'm ready to go when you are. Just let me know." With that, she walked off without another word.

Sera watched the rest of the group falter without Dayo for a moment. Cassandra then sighed. "I will go talk with her. Cullen, organize our troops and mages and get them ready to seal the Breach. Leliana, compile everything you have on the Venatori and Elder One for review. Dorian, just… stay out of the way."

"Rude."

When they finally marched up the mountain, Dayo and Cassandra had talked it out. Or it seemed so, based on the lack of tension as they marched together. As the distance to the Breach closed, Dayo's hand glowed brighter green until the energy was practically jumping out of it, an orb of light that had its own life nestled there in her palm. Sera's every instinct warned against it, but Dayo walked out ahead of them, shoulders squared. She strode right up to the Breach because she was the only one that could.

" _I have to."_

So Sera stayed, instead of fleeing down the mountain, though she certainly kept an arrow notched in her bow. Mages assembled around her, grip tight on their staffs as they stared up at the Breach, just as scared as she was. But they followed Solas' direction to let the Herald draw their energy into herself, and Sera watched Dayo raise her hand.

The sickly green that tinted every surface flared to a new level, overwhelming all other color. Dayo faltered on her feet, her pained groans reaching them even over the crackling noise of magic and Fade. It was only then that Sera realized closing rifts might actually _hurt_ , which made her feel some kind of way about the whole thing.

But Dayo closed her fist and wrenched it to the side, a movement Sera had seen before on the smaller, less world-shattering scale. The Breach's thrum of noise peaked before it was gone so suddenly Sera's ears rang. The sky wasn't unmarred, a scar left behind, but the Breach was gone. Dayo was on one knee, breathing heavily, and her hand wasn't wreathed in green flame any longer.

It was over.

Cassandra was the first to run forward, her hand out like she wanted to touch the Herald, but hesitated. Dayo stood at that moment, a little shaky, looking up at the scar left behind. No Breach, nothing looming over them.

She turned to the ground and raised both fists.

"Can I get a boo-yah?!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, triumphant.

Noise erupted around them. Sera joined in the cheers without even considering the mages whooping at her side as well. Fuck, they'd won! They'd all won something, set something right, and here Dayo was, the Herald of Andraste, doing a victory dance that was only slightly unsteady as Cassandra grinned and shook her head. There was no denying she was going to join in on the celebration that night as well. The world was a little bit safer.

Sera was going to get _so_ drunk.


	5. Chapter 5: Corypheus is such a Lich

**Disclaimer:** I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in his weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

 **Author's note:** Krem's POV. I've taken both sides in game (three playthroughs, yeesh) but I'm more familiar with the mages. Krem is a favorite character of mine. They get to Skyhold, which is the place that started my disregard for falling damage (or now whenever I try to leap off of imposing heights I just yell 'PARKOUR' before doing it).

Sorry about the delay, guys. I got a random surprise rescue animal that required a lot of attention. To make up for it, I have an extra little story at the end, where we get Dayo into archery. (Which was among my top fun classes I've ever taken.) Next chapter is planned, but not much is written. I'll try to catch back up to my once a week, but we'll see!

Carre: I'm going kind of off my own DA:O and DA2 endings. I just mention the differences where I think it's relevant. We will be meeting my Hawke (default fem!Hawke mage) in a bit.

 **Chapter 5: Corypheus is such a Lich**

Krem joined in the celebrations just as heartily as anybody else, though he noted nobody in the higher levels of command was drinking heavily. He too refrained, taking their caution to heart. Still, this was why he'd talked Bull into joining up. This was possibly the most important mission they'd done. Not the reason he'd become a soldier, but it was a good time to start having a purpose. Saving the world, and all that, was a nice change of pace.

"Krem, my man," Dayo said, grinning happily as she walked over, reaching to snag a skewer of meat from the cooking fire he was standing near. He'd been keeping an eye on it, and she seemed grateful. "Krem de la creme."

"Oh Maker, not you too with the nicknames."

"Sour Krem," she corrected, mimicking his unhappy face.

"Whipped Krem," Iron Bull chuckled, walking up behind her.

"Krem of the crop," Dayo continued. The two made eye contact, and Krem groaned as they burst into laughter together.

"Strawberries and Krem."

"Krem cheese."

"Krem puff."

"Krem my pants."

"Stop," Krem begged. He liked the fact that everybody was in high spirits, but did they have to take it out on him?

"Hey, Boss," Iron Bull started, before Dayo interrupted him.

"Not your boss, Bull. Do that to Cassie, if you gotta do it to anybody," she said, still in too much of a good mood to really care.

"This group is going to need a boss, you know," he said. Practiced, like this was a topic he'd broached a dozen times before.

"Nose goes," Dayo countered, placing a finger on her nose.

Krem shook his head. "Right, okay."

"How was that sealing the Breach shit, Krem?" she asked, grinning, taking a bite of meat with her finger still on her nose, ignoring whatever Iron Bull had been about to say. To his credit, he dropped it. "Cooler than an ice-cold Nuka, or what?"

Working with Bull for so long upped his sarcasm and decreased his self-preservation. "It wasn't dramatic enough."

Dayo's mouth fell open, her hand finally falling from her face. "Dramatic? Did you not see my hand encased in green fire? You were there! It was super dramatic!"

Krem shrugged, struggling to hide his smirk. "Yeah, but you just walked up to it. There was no fighting, no speeches, no dramatic goodbyes."

"So basically, me saving the world was just a casual hike followed by a light show to you."

"You asked."

"Add that to a long list of regrets. Dramatic my ass," Dayo huffed before stomping off. Even as he watched her, her sulking posture straightened and she went to plop down with a group of soldiers playing cards.

"Pushing our boss's buttons, huh?" Iron Bull asked. "Weren't you the one who wanted to join up?"

"You heard the lady," Krem replied, his smirk finally bursting through. "She isn't our boss, yet. Besides, you're my real boss." She was funny, though. "Hell must be an interesting place."

"Did you think it would be normal?"

Krem frowned, looking out over the mountain. "I guess… not." He could have sworn he saw movement.

A moment later, the alarm bells began clanging. Cullen charged past the two by the fire as the world seemed to speed up, people jumping to their feet, drawing their weapons with worried expressions. "Forces approaching!" Krem looked back and saw Dayo already running straight towards the danger, her food forgotten in the dirt. Bull charged after her. Seconds before she reached it a massive thud shook the gate.

"I can't come in unless you open!"

Without hesitation, Dayo opened the gates, some guards going to help. The ground was littered with unfamiliar-enemy?-soldiers, and a strange gangly boy stood among them.

"Who the fuck?" Dayo demanded, striding forward.

"I'm Cole. I'm here to warn you-you probably already know, but I want to help-they come to kill you!"

"Who?" Krem almost wanted to yell that Dayo was far too close to this stranger, but she was already there, and this Cole did nothing.

"Templars."

"What? Are they mad because we helped the mages?" Dayo asked.

"No. They're with the Elder One now." Dayo froze, and Cole pointed up the mountain. "There."

Everybody present followed his gaze. There, marching with a vast array of soldiers, was a strange Templar-and behind him stood…

"That is ten pounds of ugly in a five pound bag," Dayo gasped. "That's the Elder One? I didn't know you could get more hideous than a super mutant." He towered over the man beside him, red lyrium spiking from his skin, the rest of him an amalgamation of demon and some warped version of human. "Cullen? A plan, now."

"We've got to hit them with everything we have," the Commander said immediately. "The man with him is Samson, and he won't hold back. The trebuchets are our best bet. I'll get the soldiers ready to fight." Dayo followed his pointing to the large structures and nodded, swallowing.

"Let's nuke him, bitches."

Commander Cullen was giving some kind of speech to his soldiers, but it was a blur in Krem's ears as Dayo grabbed a few companions and ran with them in the direction of the first trebuchet. Then Krem was drawing his sword. He would fight for her, even if he didn't fight with her, to make sure they all made it through this alive.

The soldiers that came weren't men, just like their leader. They were twisted, warped, and Krem found himself agape even as he cut one down. It was as if red lyrium twisted from their limbs, pulsating the air around them with negative energy even as they died. Some mages were in the ranks, but it was mostly Templars he saw-Red Templars, he heard someone say, and he supposed it was the best descriptor. As he fought, he kept only a fraction of his attention on the Herald, until the first trebuchet fired and slammed into the side of the mountain.

Soldiers cheered at the sight of snow falling, the enemies around them slain and the remaining on the mountain buried. Krem saw Dayo straighten, wiping the sweat off of her brow and ignoring a cut on her arm, smiling at the victory.

Then the trebuchet next to her exploded in fire, and a dragon soared overhead, roaring ferociously. Dayo was thrown and landed with a roll, popping up, her mouth moving in an obvious 'is that a motherfucking dragon.' Iron Bull grabbed her, and as one they began running to the gates.

"Get the survivors to the Chantry!" Dayo cried out again, running to the nearest burning building. Krem ran from her then, seeing some injured townspeople struggling forward. He glanced back to see Dayo on a roof, jumping directly into a building, but Cassandra was with her. Krem applied his efforts elsewhere and let the others handle their own problems.

He made it to the Chantry, having rounded up who he could, and paced, trying to run around and see who needed help. Dayo finally ran up with the last of them, their potions maker, limping with his arm around her shoulders. Cassandra had his assistant over her shoulder. Both were handed off to soldiers, and surprisingly, it was Roderick ushering them all in. Guess even assholes were nice in emergencies. "Okay, cool, now we're trapped," Dayo gasped, burn marks over her clothes and skin, but determination furrowing her brows.

A second later she was catching Roderick in her arms, stumbling under the weight. "Fuck, he's hurt," she said.

"He tried to stop a templar," Cole said, moving to help her. "He's going to die."

"You need to work on your bedside manner," Dayo grumbled, helping Roderick carefully to a safe spot where he could sit. "Maybe we can help. I still have potions left over."

"Save your potions," Roderick gasped. "The sword went deep. I will not survive."

"Herald, we need to act," Cullen said, running up. "That dragon gave the rest of the army free access to us."

"We can use the remaining trebuchet, knock it into the mountain," Dayo was saying quickly, pacing in front of Roderick. "Cause another avalanche."

"It would bury Haven."

"Fuck, you're right…"

"No." Cullen shook his head. "I wasn't disagreeing with you. If that thing came here to kill us all, then we can make him regret it."

Cole shook his head. "He doesn't want the people here," he said, looking at Dayo. She looked back, wide-eyed and singed. "He just wants to kill you."

"...oh." Dayo looked at him, then back down at her hand. After a moment, her attention was pulled back to the door. "Then. I should go out there."

"What?" It was Solas, a perturbed look on his face. "You can't just-"

"Trust me, it's not exactly my first course of action, either," Dayo snapped, cutting him off. "But we're kinda at Plan Z right now. If I fight him, maybe he'll ignore everybody else."

"It won't stop him from killing the rest," Cole said.

Dayo let out a string of low curses, but her expression didn't change. "Still, I have to try. They have nowhere to go."

"There's a path." In unison, they all looked at Roderick. "A path out. Overgrown, now, and unknown to most unless you took the pilgrimage."

"Seriously? I… I could distract him. Wind up the trebuchet," Dayo murmured, a plan forming. "Bury him and cover everybody's escape." Dayo looked at Cullen.

"It… would work. We could get them out, if you keep his attention until we're above the treeline."

"Well… guess it's time to get to avalanching," Dayo said, fists clenching and relaxing.

"Your escape?"

Dayo was silent. "Maybe I'll surprise him," she finally said with a heavy tone.

"Then I'm coming with you." Cassandra drew her sword. "Form a team. You're not the only one who's invested." She smiled, only a little forced. "You are the only one who didn't necessarily volunteer, though." Varric coughed, and was summarily ignored.

Dayo looked around the group assembled. Nobody backed down, all looking at her expectantly, waiting for her orders. She gave a short, barking laugh, dragging her hand down her face, a tired moment just for herself. Then she jumped back into action.

"Solas, scout ahead along this path, coordinate the strongest mages to clear any obstacles for the survivors as they go along it. Sera, do the same, help him with the wildlife that may have moved in, feel free to order some soldiers around. Cole, keep everybody moving and calm… if you can. Varric, Cullen, Leliana: make sure nobody falls too far behind, help the stragglers. Dorian, Cassandra, and Bull, you're with me." She gave them a hard look. "But if it gets too hairy, I'm making you come back here. We can't afford to actually lose you."

Dayo turned to Krem. "Krem, stay local. Help us find the path if we return, but the moment you see either evil bad guy or an avalanche, turn heel." Everybody began moving, following orders, the three companions Dayo chose starting to move past him. Krem saw all at once what Iron Bull meant in prematurely nominating Dayo as the leader: when the chips were down, she grabbed the reins. But she was younger even than Krem, thrust into this mess without so much as a polite 'please.' Dayo turned to leave as well, and Krem stopped her with a hand to her forearm. Worry was etched into the lines of his face, the sight of which stopped Dayo for a moment.

"Don't worry," Dayo said, facing him fully. "Back home, they call me the Sole Survivor. The word 'survivor' is in there, and I think that counts for something. We all have to make our sacrifices for the greater good, yeah? The people of Haven need you, too." Krem had spent most of his life faking confidence, so he knew it when he saw it.

Dayo paused, as if considering something. "Okay, we did the fighting, and the stirring speech, so…" Her face split into a wide, shit-eating grin, before she reached forward and grabbed Krem by the shoulders before pulling him close. He didn't have any time to react before she kissed him. It was chaste, played up for the reaction, and he suddenly got what she was doing when she pushed him back away. "There, that was a theatrical goodbye. Dramatic enough for you now?" Behind them, he heard Iron Bull bark out a laugh. Dayo punched Krem in the arm, gave a cheesy wink, then unsheathed her daggers and charged out after her group, screaming her warcry to grab everybody's attention and focus it on her.

"It's time to take out the trash!"

Asshole. He hoped she made it.

The air grew quiet as the survivors filed out, right about the time he heard the sounds of fighting from around the area of the trebuchets. He was sure he bit his lip to bleeding as it dragged on, watching the dragon sail overhead, like there was an endless army out there.

The dragon descended, and he could hear the sound it made when it landed where the group would be.

Krem waited with bated breath, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Figures ran towards him-Bull, Cassandra, and Dorian trailing behind. Dayo wasn't with them, and the look on Cassandra's face as they ran to the path he pointed out told him everything he needed to know. They'd gotten separated, and left her behind. Dayo was still back there with the Elder One and his dragon, and their escape plan hadn't actually worked. Krem followed as they ran for their lives, hoping at least that it was too late for them to be followed.

Suddenly there was a bang, like a small explosion echoing in the clear air. "Her pistol," Cassandra panted, turning, but the Iron Bull grabbed her shoulder and kept her moving. Krem saw the trebuchet fire, successfully hitting the mountain. Krem forgot to breathe and stumbled to a halt as he saw the curtain of white descend quickly down the slopes, enveloping what was left of the enemy soldiers. Dayo had managed to pull it off. Krem watched, a sinking feeling of dread building in his stomach, knowing Dayo couldn't make it back in time. He saw a dragon take flight, and was sure there was a rider on top.

"Krem! Move! Now!" Bull roared. They fled ahead of the snow, and behind them, Haven was soon buried, the white washing away the horror as if nothing had happened at all.

* * *

She was dead.

That was what everybody was saying. They'd gotten out, regrouped, and put up tents in the relative safety of a small valley. The walls of the mountains around them helped to block out most of the wind. It had been a long march through snow after Haven got buried.

Dayo and her companions had managed to aim the trebuchet before the dragon interrupted. Dayo ordered them away, but stayed behind. Dorian lingered just long enough to see the Elder One appear, leaving soon after he revealed his name was Corypheus. Whatever Dayo had done after that had worked. She cause the avalanche, covering their escape route. Staying behind had saved all of their asses.

Nobody was talking much. There were plenty injured still, though more made it out alive than Krem had anticipated when the fighting started. From what he could tell, all the craftsmen, advisors, everybody in the upper ranks was still around to use their expertise and help, so the rest of them weren't too bad off. They even had information, though it was very slight. It could all be worse than it currently was. But the attack on Haven had hurt them badly, they were without a home, Corypheus could potentially finish them off at any time…

And the Herald was dead.

She couldn't have made it out of that alive. If Corypheus wasn't some crazy-powerful demon-thing with his very own dragon, Krem would be having doubts about even that guy making it out. A good chunk of his army had most certainly been wiped off the map with that one move. They'd hurt him back.

Yet he continued to scan the horizon with his hand tapping at the hilt of his sword in an anxious gesture. The others were dealing in their own way. Cassandra was stomping around and snapping orders at anybody who got close. Cullen wrapped himself up in checking, double checking, triple checking on his troops and the rest of the survivors. Leliana got as much information out of everybody she could corner, which was everybody, to build a solid picture of what happened that night.

Sera hadn't moved from her corner, head down, tense and still and quiet in a way Krem had never seen. Dorian was nearby, turning his mind into himself with his face a solemn mask. Cole crouched by a tent of injured people, murmuring nonsense quietly, Krem unable to focus on him for long. Solas seemed mad, fuming in a corner, and though Iron Bull masked it, Krem saw he was just as angry. She'd saved them all and gone down in the process. Noble, but she'd left them to face the threat alone. She was dead, and the Inquisition was likely soon to follow.

So Krem just watched. Which was why he was the one to see a form stumble forward, limping. It was too far away to see details, and Krem held up his hand to wave down Bull.

"Look," he said, pointing across the snow and glancing back at his boss. "A straggler."

Bull gasped, which was something Krem had almost never heard him do. Then Krem looked back and saw a small flash of green light as the distant figure fell to their knees.

"It's the Herald!"

He couldn't tell who'd yelled it first, but just like that, Cassandra and Cullen were running across the snow. Bull followed, warhammer out in case there was something else coming. Krem stayed behind, immediately going to fetch a medic, because no matter how alive she might be, Dayo was going to need it.

Cullen was the one to carry her back, Dayo unconscious by the time they got to camp proper. Her head lolled against Cullen's chest with a dried smear of blood on her cheek. She was swarmed by the healers on duty. Mother Giselle ordered the lot about as she listed injuries in her check. Sprained wrist, numerous cuts and bruises, a few more serious slashes-were those the signs of demon claws? And how the hell had she gotten so far on a broken leg? "She's lucky it was the fibula, or else she wouldn't have been able to walk at all," Mother Giselle muttered, mostly to herself, before she unceremoniously cleared out the medical tent. Dayo was beat to shit, but she was stable. She'd survive. Against all odds, she'd actually made it out.

He could hear the murmurs around him. The Herald of Andraste had come back from the dead. It couldn't be, but it was.

The advisors fell into loud argument. They had their Herald, but now more than ever needed to plan their next steps with nothing to go on. They circled around the argument for hours, blaming everything they could and making no progress. They didn't move far from Dayo's tent in the process.

Eventually, though, their arguing faded to a sort of desolate silence. Krem watched from his perch in the shadows, catching the moment the Herald emerged from the tent. She looked exhausted, and hurt, leaning hard on a wooden staff she must have borrowed. But she was awake, and alive, and taking in the sight of her despairing advisers.

Hopeless.

Dayo considered it a long moment. Then she took a deep breath and began to sing. Krem had never heard the song, and her voice was a little spotty, but she sang with all her own courage that remained.

"Wish on the moon and the gold in a rainbow, and you'll find happy times," she sang. The camp stilled. "You'll hear a tune that lives in the heart of a bluebird, and you'll find happy times." She closed her eyes. "Though things may look very dark, your dream is not in vain. For when do you find a rainbow? Only after rain."

Her voice was weak, but got stronger as she continued, and everybody found themselves listening to the slow lilting melody, moving as one. "So wish on the moon and someday it may be tomorrow, you will suddenly hear chimes. And you'll have your happy, happy times."

She opened her eyes, and her expression shifted quickly from startled to resigned. One by one, the people of Haven had approached and knelt in front of her. The tension in the air had shifted with her song.

They had a cause.

The moment passed, and people went back to their duties, leaving Dayo looking flustered. The advisers beelined to Dayo as a unit. "Nice song," Leliana said.

"It played a lot back home. It… was a nice pick-me-up. For when things weren't going so hot." Dayo rubbed the back of her neck, quickly changing the subject. "I feel like shit, but Corypheus and I had a nice chat before I shot him in the fucking head. Not that it did much, but my information could help. Wanna sit down and discuss strategy?"

"We don't have Haven," Cassandra said. "We lost so many, and we don't know what Corypheus now plans. Where would we even start?"

"Let's start with the fact that you're alive, yeah? And you still have something to fight for," Dayo said. "The world hasn't ended. We still have a shot at keeping it that way. So come inside my tent, love, and let's chat."

They went back to the medic tent, most people crowding in around the doorway. Krem noted Solas hanging back and did the same, to keep him in the corner of his vision. Dayo went back to reclining when she could, and her side of the story came in bits and pieces. Corypheus revealed so much, including that the artifact could summon its own key through her nonmagical blood. He'd just expected her to die. Instead, the mark, the Anchor, had been attached to Dayo after she interrupted his ritual. "He said he'd wanted to get to the fade," Dayo said. "Get to the empty throne of the Maker." That caused a pause. If Corypheus had been one of those Magisters to start the Blights, then he could very well be referring to the Black City.

"Then I told him to choke on a bag of dicks, shot him in the face, and triggered the trebuchet," Dayo said, a yawn punctuating the end of that sentence. Krem heard Dorian laugh. She'd ended up in underground caves and followed their dead camp fires here. "Then I passed out, the end. Oh, but his dragon just about scared the piss out of me. Why did nobody tell me dragons were a thing here?"

"This is the Dragon Age."

"You think that would've come up by now…"

After some more murmuring, the group left to let her get some rest after several more yawns. Krem watched, unseen, as Solas waited for the rest to vacate. Then he walked into the tent. What did the elf want to say that he didn't want others hearing? He crept forward to listen in, low and silent.

"Solas? Yo, my dude. I'm glad you're okay."

"Likewise, Dayo." Solas sounded sincere enough. Krem had seen how worried the guy had been in the interim, so he supposed he couldn't really doubt it. "Can we have a word?"

"I'll put off naptime for you anyday," Dayo replied warmly.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Like a grave," Dayo said. Krem couldn't keep the same promise.

"The orb Corypheus had. I know of it. The magic it must have been using is powerful, and with such an ingredient as pure nonmagical blood, it could be very powerful, enough to cause that explosion at the conclave. Or even tear through the Rift. It… it is elven."

"Oh. Damn. They already treat your people like shit, huh," Dayo hissed sympathetically. "Yeah, not a secret that should get out."

"I am glad you agree that this information should not be spread."

"Yeah, but how do _you_ know about it?"

"It is a focal point for ancient magics," Solas explained. "I've seen memories of things like it, in the Fade. It is not from Tevinter. In his hands, it could do much damage."

"Well… thanks for telling me." Dayo sighed, again. "Man, now I'm tired and I have a headache. Feels like a herd of Radstags up in my head."

"That is not all."

Another secret? "Okay," Dayo said, sounding as wary as Krem felt.

"I know of a refuge that can be the new home for the Inquisition."

"Fuck! Yeah!" Dayo sounded excited. "Lead the way, man."

"No. You should be the one."

Dayo laughed. "Out of the two of us, you're the one who knows where it is."

"Scout to the north. You'll find it there." Solas paused. "We must rally around you, if this Inquisition is to survive."

"I don't think I'm this Herald everybody is going on about," Dayo said, "and I really doubt I can be their hero, too."

"You must try. I think you are more capable than you believe."

Krem snuck away as their conversation wound down, missing the tail end of it in favor of leaving before being noticed to report to Iron Bull. The next day, the both exchanged a glance as Dayo headed out of the tent and made her announcement.

She was taking them to a stronghold.

Along the way, Dayo was supported and surrounded by friends. Every stumble was righted by someone nearby, and the help put steel in her spine, until at long last their journey landed them in a mountain pass. After so long without a home, they erupted into talking at the sight of the castle ahead.

"Holy shit, I couldn't break into that," Dayo whispered. And she was right. Krem couldn't see any weaknesses, either. Only one way in or out, a bottleneck, atop a sturdy mountain that seemed impossible to climb. It was the perfect place for the growing Inquisition.

"How nice," Solas said, standing beside Krem. He glanced over at Krem, and suddenly he felt like Solas knew about his eavesdropping.

"She's beautiful." Solas seemed pleased as punch with that response. Dayo turned to the crowd, holding up her arms as a cheer went up. "Welcome to your new home! Welcome-to Skyhold!"

* * *

The inside was almost as good as the outside. Quickly, tents were pitched and buildings were cleared, then cleaned. A few of the larger structures would take longer to fix up, it was glorious even in disrepair. And once word was out, more people started to arrive. Krem helped the building effort and watched their numbers grow daily.

"Excited?" he asked Dayo. She was seated, resting, but he'd seen her cleaning along with everybody else.

"This is insane," she said. "It's amazing!" She looked across the courtyard, something catching her eye. Krem followed her gaze to see the advisors in a circle, talking, before she looked over. Cassandra waved her over while the other three dispersed. "Oops, I'm being summoned. I'll chat more once Cassie's done with me, okay?" She punched his shoulder and headed out.

It was astounding how at ease he felt with her. By now, she knew his secret, how he'd not always been a soldier, and about his life, before the transition. But she treated him no differently. Punched him in the arm no less, that was for sure; good thing she wasn't actually very strong. He watched her walk away confidently towards Cassandra, despite her limp, and had a feeling he knew what the conversation was about.

Then Cullen was gathering people into a crowd for the official announcement, and his suspicions were sealed. Krem joined the others, leaning against a wall, smile on his face as he watched Cassandra lead Dayo up the stairs. Seemed Dayo was the only one who didn't know at this point.

Dayo seemed surprised, breathless even, when she saw Leliana there, holding out a sword. Dayo then looked out to see the crowd forming.

Cassandra turned to the audience. "Inquisition! Before you is the Herald of Andraste, the savior at Haven, and now, with your support-your Inquisitor!"

A cheer rose from those at Skyhold, and Dayo's eyes were wide. He could see her lips moving. 'Me?' He couldn't quite see Cassandra's response, which was a shame, as the trembling in Dayo's hand stopped. She took the hilt and then turned to face the people, accepting her role as their Inquisitor. Their leader.

In the audience, Krem caught her eye. He raised his brow, and she smiled before thrusting her sword into the sky.

"We. Will. Triumph!"

* * *

"Can I suggest something?"

"Shoot, Krem."

The two were leaning against a wall, the people bustling around them. Four days in Skyhold showed them all how much work still needed to be done, but also how strong the foundation was. Anything that wasn't stone did need to be looked at, but already the tavern was up and running, stairs and buildings were close to being rebuilt. Soldiers ran around with building supplies, under orders from Cullen, who'd set up a temporary office in one of the lower level courtyards. There was minimal grumbling about doing carpentry, but even Dayo participated.

"First of all, the stairs are there for a reason. Use them."

"Don't tell me how to live my life, Krem," Dayo shot back, but was smiling. She had a tendency to more or less launch herself off of heights and climb down, or roll, rather than simply walking like a normal person. Maybe he could understand her disregard for safety, for convenience sake; Skyhold was huge, and getting around took a while. But Krem had been noticing some wincing when she got up.

"You're still healing. One of these days, we're going to have to talk about your disregard for your own life. Second, I was thinking of a job for the Chargers."

"Besides rebuilding?"

"We could go back to Haven with some of the soldiers. Find the bodies, give them a proper burial… set up a memorial."

Dayo fell silent, then nodded. "That sounds… really sweet. That can happen. That _should_ happen. And the snow should be melting by now." She snapped her fingers. "Ah! Can you look for my pack?"

"Pack?"

Dayo patted her hip. "It was small, and green. I was wearing it before the attack on Haven. Had a few things in it. If I'd had it in the caves, I could've Stimpak'd my leg. Wouldn't be having such issues walking now, but I guess that's just how it goes. If you find it, can you bring it back?"

Oh, he could remember such a thing buckled around her hips. "Sure," Krem said, nodding. "I'll keep an eye out."

"Oy! Dayo!"

The two looked up

Sera waved Dayo over. "Yo! How 'bout our Inquisitor give shooting a go?" She and Varric weren't allowed to join the shooting competition, but who'd stop the Inquisitor?

Dayo cocked a brow and wandered over. Slowly. The healing potions had mended her leg, but with the amount of walking she'd done on a broken bone, it would be sore for a while. "Shooting? Like my pistol? I don't have infinite shots left," she said.

Sera held out her bow. "Try this."

"...show me?" Dayo said.

"Sure."

Sera notched her arrow and lined up a shot, releasing it in one breath. The arrow landed on the bullseye, right in the middle.

"Sera! We said you couldn't compete!" one of the contestants called out, annoyed.

"Practice shot!" Sera laughed, handing off the bow. Dayo took it, and the arrow that followed, hesitantly. She lifted the bow as Sera had done, mimicked her stance, drew the arrow…

...and the tip of the arrow slid off her fingers, away from the bow and into the dirt before she could even fire.

Dayo flushed darkly as Sera didn't even attempt to hide her laughter. Varric and Krem grinned, but held back, for her sake. "Okay, fuck this, I give up," Dayo snapped, frowning deeply as she held out the bow for Sera to take. "It's nothing like my pistol. I'm going to see if Cassie needs me. It's stupid anyway."

"Hold on, kid," Varric said through his amusement. "Try this." He held up his crossbow.

Dayo's eyebrows shot up. "Bianca? You're willing to let me hold her?"

"On loan, obviously. But she probably shoots just as straight as that weapon you shoot, and it's a similar hold. Here, the sight's on top."

Dayo took the crossbow, feeling its weight. She turned to face the target, really eyeing it now, before holding up the crossbow.

Varric snorted. "You don't hold it like that, kid, you have to-"

Before he finished, she'd fired her shot. There was an audible noise as she scored right next to Sera—it had been so close, they could hear the metal tips smacking together from back here.

Dayo lowered the crossbow smugly as both Varric and Sera stared at her. "Awww," she said, winking at Sera. "We match."

"You… why the hell do you not have a crossbow?" Sera asked. "If you're that good a shot-"

"Does this mean I win the contest?" Dayo chirped.

"I'll get her a crossbow from somewhere," Varric said, "even fix it up a little. Here. I'm teaching you how to reload. Now."

Dayo laughed, handing back Bianca. "Okay, teach me. It'll be easier to use VATS with it, anyway. I'll save the daggers for melee." She grinned. "And it'll be a good way to put off heading back into the War Room. It gets too serious in there."

She looked up at Krem, shrugging apologetically. He shook his head and raised a hand in goodbye.

He remembered convincing Iron Bull to join the fight once upon a time. Based on all he'd witnessed, that had been a very important decision. This had become so much more than he even imagined. Krem would be around for it.

And with this group, who knew what he'd see next.


	6. Chapter 6: Easier Slayed than Done

**Disclaimer:** I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

 **Author's note:** Vivienne's POV. I feel the game did her dirty. She's a tough nut to crack, folks, but we can do it together, you and I. Man this is a lot of talking for this chapter, but I hope the blood and fighting I squeezed in there is enough for us all. Recap: Haven got buried, Dayo cursed a lot, and Varric promised her a crossbow.

Thanks again for the follows and reviews! I think about blackpowder a lot, guys. Researched a lot about it from previous games and how it could be made. Other research for this: chocolate, dragon eyes, fashion sense. Sorry about the unintended hiatus (stop telling people I'm dead!). Due to health stuff (gots me a rebellious heart), my motivation fell pretty low, and it has yet to really pick back up. Lately, every time I got a new follow, I wrote another 500 words, so seriously, thanks. I tried to skip everything I could, but it's still a longer chapter than normal.

 **Chapter 6: Easier Slayed than Done**

Vivienne looked over Skyhold's main hall from her balcony, hooded eyes surveying her new territory. It had been her choice to come here after the Inquisitor had finally gotten the time to visit, though the delay was understandable. Still. It wasn't the polished Circle she was used to. In fact, looking around at the quarters unceremoniously supplied to her, she'd have to say it was as far from it as she could have expected.

"Why in the Maker's name isn't my room swept," she huffed, looking at the dusty floor with dismay. Her things sat in their boxes in the corner of the room where they'd been dropped, one of the boxes looked severely dented, and there was dirt on the floor. _Dirt_. Vivienne fumed at a few busy servants to make her annoyance Known before returning and fuming in private. She could make her own modifications with only a couple of cunning letters, and maybe after that someone of her importance wouldn't be ignored.

And then there Dayo was, with a broom and a smile. "Inquisitor," Vivienne said.

"Heard you had dirty floors." Dayo punctuated that with a laugh, and for a horrified moment Vivienne thought she was going to be handed the broom to do it herself. Before she could respond with the appropriate outrage, the Inquisitor herself was sweeping her floors. Yes, this was happening. She felt awkwardly out of place and found herself leaning on the doorframe, out of the way. Leaving might be more polite, but Vivienne found herself growing more curious by the second.

"Quite a place, this," Vivienne said, trying for a subtle jab. She realized the futility of it when Dayo looked up brightly.

"Isn't it baller?" she said excitedly, the insult missing her by a country mile. "It's so _solid_ , and powerful. And as we clear more away it just gets better. When I first saw it curled up on the mountain, I thought, _cool, now we have a dragon too_." Dayo chuckled, going back to this servant's work. "With a bit of dust for character."

"Ah. Quick question, my dear. Why are all the mages roaming free? I would imagine that caused quite a bit of unrest."

"You're a mage too, right? And you said you wanted to help them. I don't think putting them back under lockdown will do that, especially since it's kind of what caused this clusterfuck in the first place."

"Language."

"Oops. My bad. Cluster… fudge?"

Vivienne didn't say more on the matter. This was only their second meeting, after all. She had no true power here. Yet.

 _(It had been a memorable affair, their first meeting. A name or two dropped at the right moment, rumors whispered near servants, an intercepted note, and Vivienne had a Marquis biting at the bit to slight the Inquisitor in some fashion. Vivienne's timely intervention had been mostly ignored by Dayo, who moved immediately to attempt to befriend the Marquis. Once the party was over, Vivienne had used the term 'memorable' in its description to her sick lover, who regrettably missed the whole scene. Then she told him she had to leave. That was the hardest part.)_

After a quick chat and a promise to send up dinner, Dayo vanished. The hot meal showed up that night, and a week later, Dayo returned with a broom. "The personnel is too busy," she explained. Vivienne looked outside her balcony, seeing all the forms still moving around like ants to finish up their work for the day and go eat. It was all hands on deck. Nobody was resting until the work was done-including, apparently, Dayo herself.

She spent more of their chat attempting to figure Dayo out; she'd heard whispers of Dayo's origins, as she was clearly not from Ferelden. Their illuminating talk was followed up with a request. A simple one, candles and parchment to her room, but a day later a servant arrived with a box of her requested supplies.

From the first day she swept onwards, Dayo returned once a week in between missions after that to personally sweep Vivienne's room, always saying that nobody else was available. Vivienne could believe it, with how fast this place was improving. They spent most of the time simply talking and catching up, discussing what was going on in the Inquisition. Vivienne poked hard when it came to the mages, but didn't seem to have much effect. Her smaller requests seemed to be going through.

"Dear, have you fixed the tapestries yet?" Vivienne said, her voice ringing smooth and coy.

"Almost. We got a shipment of cloth coming in, and some Inquisition tapestries will be up soon," Dayo replied, less smoothly and much less controlled but just as confident. "It'll look good."

"And about my request for better roads? Building infrastructure is important for a growing organization."

"I dunno, I'll have to bring it up in the War Room later," Dayo said. Without her. Vivienne frowned as Dayo knelt to sweep the dust into a bin. She'd have to try something new.

"My dear, you simply must stop by tomorrow," Vivienne said as Dayo prepared to leave. "I have the promise of a new box of candied chocolates arriving with the next shipment. You did mention that you haven't tried chocolate?"

Dayo smiled. "Yeah, I was never able to find the chocolate version of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes. I'll be there."

Her reaction to chocolate was just as good as Vivienne had hoped. Then she stopped by two days later without a broom, and a couple days after that, just to visit, so she supposed her plan to get closer to the Inquisitor was working. Their talks were… fun, Vivienne had to admit. Saying Dayo was 'rough around the edges' would be the understatement of the era but the girl knew how to spin a story. Dayo's curiosity about Vivienne seemed genuine, so she found herself giving as much information as she got. Vivienne couldn't bring herself to ask anything truly deep like how Dayo got the scar on her forehead. She didn't really want to exchange anything as personal.

One week, Vivienne heard the sounds of the Inquisitor's return from a trip out in the courtyard. The message that had arrived before them spoke of finding a Gray Warden, and Vivienne looked out from her balcony to see a slightly unwashed newcomer adding his beard to their ranks. Dayo made a beeline for the main tower and within minutes Vivienne heard a familiar fall of footsteps come up the stairs. But this time it wasn't to chat, she could tell. Dayo was acting a little sheepish, head bowed a bit, and Vivienne perked up. That sort of body language was easy as pie to figure out. She wondered what private thing Dayo was about to expose, what favor she was about to ask.

"Oh, Herald. To what might I owe this honor?"

"I have a favor. And a secret, kinda. The advisors know, I mean, but not many others."

"Of course you can tell me, dear," Vivienne purred, smiling.

"Just… can you… teach me to read?"

Her smile fell, and by the look on Dayo's face, whatever expression Vivienne had must have been borderline unladylike. "I mean, I can read! But the writing _here_ is totally foreign to me. I haven't really had time, and all I really need is help on the alphabet…" Dayo shrugged, almost desperately. Vivienne could see her nervousness in every tic.

"May I ask why you chose me?"

"You just… struck me as a good teacher," Dayo said with another shrug that tried too hard to be casual. "You're obviously smart. I just don't know how tough the others would be on me."

"Are you insinuating I'm mean?" Vivienne raised a brow, and Dayo shook her head, groaning and gathering her words.

"You'd say it as it is. You don't treat me like you sometimes don't quite know how to talk to me. I think I can trust you to be honest, to push me. And I need to know this yesterday." Dayo went to sit in a chair, slumped. "I can't do everything, but I can do a bit more if I can read and shit."

"Language."

"Sorry, ma'am." Oh, that was a good touch. The girl probably picked it up from the Iron Bull mercenary.

"Well. If you've learned to write before, it would make the process very easy. And you seem like an intelligent young lady… when you aren't cursing like a soldier." Dayo simultaneously blushed and gave a shit-eating grin. "How often are you willing to have lessons?"

"Back home, it was whenever I had free time," Dayo said. "And I do have free time now that I'm mostly spending just hanging with the soldiers and whatnot. I didn't want to hire a tutor like Leliana suggested."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I don't know if I could trust them to not talk about why they're here. I knew you'd keep the secret, since you're supporting us."

So her compliment on Dayo's smarts wasn't empty. Vivienne wouldn't willfully tell anybody that she was throwing her hat in with an illiterate Inquisitor. "Yes," she said, carefully. "You will need supplies. Meet me here tomorrow, right before dawn."

Dayo didn't even hesitate at the ridiculous demand. "Sure, I'll be here. I hardly sleep as-is." Vivienne listed her materials, and Dayo darted off to get them.

What an odd team she'd found herself in, but if this was what they needed, so be it. Vivienne looked out over the growing force that was Skyhold thoughtfully. Dayo wasn't all bad. She'd at least known to flatter Vivienne's intelligence, and being called honest seemed like a compliment from her. She wouldn't redecorate Skyhold to her exacting standards just yet.

* * *

Vivienne had been apprehensive when she joined Dayo for their next excursion. They were searching for signs of Gray Wardens, and Dayo had chosen her, Sera, and Blackwall to tag along. Dayo had her new crossbow, fixed up by Varric, and something about the team composition made Vivienne wary.

Turned out to be a spot-on assessment, when Blackwall was taking the brunt of enemy damage, and Dayo kept showing off with Sera instead of properly fighting. At first Vivienne thought she was imagining things, but the two had gotten into the habit of trying to take out the same person in some kind of idiotic shooting competition. She saw an arrow _thunk_ into the head of a bandit attempting to attack Blackwall. Before he hit the ground, a crossbow bolt sprouted out of the other side of his head, like the world's weirdest deer.

The two only stopped fucking around as a rogue bandit broke off from attacking Blackwall to head to Vivienne. He was almost upon her despite her ice magic before he fell, taking a bolt to the throat. Blood splashed across her chest and torso as he fell, an entirely unpleasant feeling.

Then an arrow from Sera's bow sprouted from his butt where he lay. Vivienne felt the onset of a headache, and as Blackwall headed over to check on her, he looked to have the same.

Sera and Dayo headed over, giggling and arguing over who took down which bandit. "Can you girls save your pissing contest for a target on a tree?" Blackwall grumbled.

"Aww, it wasn't all bad," Dayo said. "You're fine. After all, such a big strong Warden shouldn't have any trouble!" She looked over Vivienne. "Sorry 'bout your clothes, though."

Blackwall leveled a glare at her, met by an equally intense smirk. Dayo was poking at him, on purpose.

"Blackwall, we are going to take a bathing break now so I can change and clean these robes before they stain," Vivienne said in a clipped tone instead of asking Dayo about it. "I am certainly not about to travel in such a state. Could you be a dear and help us search for a safe bathing spot? And perhaps, guard us while we clean?"

"Yes, Lady Vivienne," Blackwall said automatically. Honestly, Vivienne didn't know what sort of beef Dayo could have with him. Despite being greasy, he seemed perfectly agreeable, if a bit quietly awkward.

"We can help out," Dayo offered helpfully.

"You could do with a bath yourself, actually," Vivienne said, reaching out the end of her staff to delicately lift the hem of Dayo's shirt. Dayo wrinkled her nose but didn't argue, apparently somewhat used to being reminded to bathe.

The group hunted along the nearby river until they found a large pool, reasonably cut off from the stream, its water clear. A few larger rocks sat nearby, providing cover from one side. Blackwall set up a distance away on the other side, and the girls stripped down, Sera having decided to join them. Vivienne reached her staff into the water to heat it up as they folded their clothes, hopefully taking care of anything large enough to cause issues. After Vivienne started her clothes soaking, they all sank into the steaming water. They all kept their weapons within reach, and Dayo's additional weapon like a pistol sat just a little closer than her crossbow and daggers.

"Can I ask why you're being so hostile to Blackwall?" Vivienne asked.

"Hostile?" Dayo asked, not really negating the statement. She tied a bit of soap into a washcloth and began sudsing up.

"You are being a right fuck, what gives?" Sera asked. At that moment Vivienne gave up on chiding them for their cursing.

Dayo lifted her head and frowned, looking at the bushes. "I dunno. Well, no, I know. I don't trust him. I mean, I do, but I don't believe him."

"Huh?"

Dayo shrugged. "He's lying about something. He's obviously a good guy, and he does want to be here. But he's still hiding something big. I bet his beard is fake."

"I can hear every word you girls are saying." That was Blackwall, and Vivienne nearly smiled, having wondered if he would defend himself.

Sera burst into laughter. "Yeah. But I've already said this to your face," Dayo nonchalantly called back.

"The first time we met. Yeah, I remember." Blackwall huffed. "So you think I'm a liar, but you do trust me to guard you ladies without any defenses."

"I said being a liar and a good guy are not mutually exclusive," Dayo said, sinking into the water to rinse. "You're all protective and shit, sure. But you feel you gotta hide something big to do it. I'd like it if you'd knock it off."

"I don't even know what I'd lie to you about," Blackwall muttered.

"I bet I could guess. Is it that you can't really whistle? I can show you." She lifted some fingers to her lips.

"Darling, I'm sure we all have secrets," Vivienne interjected.

"Yeah, but none we wear like armor," Dayo said, lowering her fingers.

Vivienne sighed, trying to think of a way to deflect the conversation. "Maybe you could do with more armor, darling. You seem to have picked up a lot of scars."

Dayo blinked, shrugging. "I guess. But it's dangerous back home, you get scars." Vivienne relaxed, knowing what was coming. Dayo hoisted herself up a little and began pointing them out, because people like her couldn't resist showing off scars. "This slash is from a Yao Guai."

"A bear," Blackwall added for clarification. "She ran past us screaming that name as I was leaving with them the last time. You can imagine what was following her."

"Back home you sure as shit can't kill them with _arrows_." Dayo tapped one small circular scar. "Anything like this is a bullet wound, like from my pistol." There were quite a few dotting the skin currently exposed.

"They look like arrow wounds, like this," Sera said, shifting up to show off a jagged scar that had cleanly entered through her shoulder.

Dayo whistled. "Yeah. The exit wounds on bullets can be brutal, though… still better than when they don't exit. I'd probably sink outright with how much metal I have in me, if I knew how to swim."

"The burn?" Sera asked, pointing at Dayo's hip. Vivienne knew Blackwall was still listening, and hoped none of this gave him temptation to peek. Some people could hardly resist a good scar. She tilted her face towards his direction to watch him.

"The burn was from a scavver raid that Gunther took me on."

"Gunther?"

"He was in my caravan. They taught me everything I know."

"Write their names as you talk," Vivienne added. "For practice."

"You guys really want to hear about them?"

"If you want Beardo over there to open up, you'd better lead by example," Sera said. Vivienne had the strong feeling that everybody here was simply curious.

Dayo slid back into the water and reached out to write a name in the dirt nearby. "Gunther laughed from the belly, when you could get the old fart to laugh at all. He was a scavver, a scavenger, and kept us in stock of everything we could need. Whatever shit he didn't steal from raiders, he got from old abandoned buildings. He taught me to read and write, and… other stuff. Like how to sneak around, and how to get in and out of raiding camps. Pick locks. Cut it close a couple of times."

"Your hip."

"Yeah. Took me when I was twelve and I didn't see the flamethrower trap. Lit myself up something fierce. Dumb, since those things are huge."

"You _were_ only twelve," Vivienne pointed out.

"That's what he said. Didn't take me out for another six months after that. I pretty much had to beg and annoy my way back, which I hear I'm good at."

Vivienne chuckled slightly, and heard something from Blackwall as well. Dayo wrote something else. "Kikiyo?" Vivienne guessed.

"Kikyo." Dayo watched as Vivienne reached over to fix the name, eyes lingering over the spelling. "She was the unofficial leader, I guess. Taught me to snipe. I could hit a guy at six hundred paces with a pipe rifle in bad weather." She sounded proud of the fact, so Vivienne didn't ask what any of that meant. "Kikyo was the one to convince them to take me in when they found me."

"Found you?" Sera asked. "Where was your real family?"

"For one, the caravan _was_ my real family. And I don't know where I came from." Dayo began scrubbing her hair clean. "They found me among some shot-up bodies when I was less than a year old. We were by the entrance to a vault. Uh, vaults are places where people went underground before the War, sheltered up a little."

"Smart," Vivienne noted. Dayo had talked about the total devastation the War had caused. Getting underground seemed a good turn of events for those who could manage.

"Sometimes. Didn't seem to work for this one," Dayo said, dunking her head back to rinse her hair. "Everybody inside was dead. It's where Kikyo found this Pip-Boy, and gave it to me when I was old enough to use it." She held up her wrist as if to emphasize her point. She took the contraption everywhere. Vivienne wondered if she'd have to start reminding her to wash under it to avoid any gross buildup.

"What the hell happened?" Sera asked.

"They didn't figure it out. One of the dead people was a vault dweller. The others looked… weird? One held a holotape that merely read 'Day 0,' like a journal. So they called me Dayo. I had this cut." Dayo pushed her wet hair back, fully revealing the faded scar that went from her left eyebrow into her hairline.

Vivienne decided not to ask what a holotape was, or they'd be there all night. "And they took you in, just like that?"

"Gunther told me once that Kikyo didn't even hesitate when she saw me. Just picked me up and acted like the group had already decided to keep me."

Her hand reached out to smooth the dirt before writing down another name. "Felix," Sera said, joining in on the guessing.

"Our nerd. Worked on computers and robots. Um, like—metal men? They never lasted too long, but I liked whatever Mr. Handy's he got his hands on. Most of the time he programmed them to tell terrible puns. I wasn't never as good as he was. Learned more about weapon mods from him, and how to patch up wounds."

Another name. "Gal," Vivienne said before Sera could intervene. The two glanced at each other, careful masks on their face.

"She was an entertainer, so she was the face of the group. Could charm a merchant into giving away his best stock for a song. Taught me how to lie, besides how to follow tracks." Dayo smiled. "And flirt, natch."

"The Inquisitor? Flirting?" Blackwall called out, his back still solidly to them.

"Buy me dinner first," Dayo shot back, and she and Sera lost themselves to laugher. Vivienne looked on, wholly unamused until they got back on track. "Gal also taught me how to make bullets. Kikyo was always bugging her for more. If we had gunpowder, I could maybe make some here-or, ooh, exploding arrows," Dayo mused.

That caught Sera's fancy. "Exploding arrows?"

"Dear, what is gunpowder exactly?"

"It's this black powder we put into bullets and whatnot, what my pistol shoots out, makes it go fast," Dayo said. "It's easy enough to make if I can get my hands on the ingredients, but I haven't seen any saltpeter or bats yet."

"Bats?" Sera asked, more bewildered.

"Wait. Are you talking about blackpowder?" Vivienne asked, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Uh… maybe? I guess you wouldn't call it gunpowder or anything," Dayo asked, looking more intense. "You saying you have it here?"

"We... do. In a sense," Vivienne clarified, the edges of her mouth pulling down. "Or rather, the Qunari do. However, their blackpowder is a heavily guarded secret."

"So Iron Bull would know where to get saltpeter," Dayo said.

"If he agrees to help," Vivienne said carefully, though her head was reeling with the possibilities. "He is still loyal to the Qun."

"I just need the ingredients, then I can do the rest myself," Dayo said, and how casually she said it-even Sera knew how valuable this information could be, judging from the look on her face. Vivienne would have to see if her connections would help them secure some of what Dayo wanted. If she needed bats…

"How do bats help with blackpowder?" Vivienne thought to ask.

"Their poop has some saltpeter in it," Dayo clarified. "It's crude, but it's better than nothing." Oh.

"Don't spread that knowledge around," Blackwall finally spoke up. "There are many unsavory figures who would kill for that information."

"You would know," Dayo said. "But then again, so do I. Okay, our little secret."

Sera didn't start her own washing, looking thoughtful. "Dayo," she said with a frown. "These people. Where are they now?"

Dayo stopped scrubbing. "Oh, they…" She fiddled with the lump of soap and her rag. "When I was nineteen, some raiders got the drop on us. They were from far west, what was left of some kind of militant group, and they… they don't leave survivors." Dayo reached up and ran a finger over a jagged scar in her shoulder. "They got me good, early on. Hit me hard enough that I saw double before they stabbed me. I think they thought I was dead. I couldn't move, I couldn't… they killed everybody while I watched. Then I passed out."

"I…" Vivienne trailed off, suddenly at a genuine loss of words. A heavy pall hung in the air, and Dayo had never looked so serious. The look on her face hurt her heart. "I'm so very sorry to hear that."

"Same," Sera said, making a motion as if she wanted to pat Dayo on the shoulder, except they were all naked in a pool of water. She quickly withdrew her hand. "It's… sorry."

"By some stroke of luck, if you could call it that, I didn't bleed out. Once I woke up, I managed to find a Stimpak and get myself limping. Found a settlement that got me patched up. Wandered for a bit, a… good while. Too long. Eventually I got to Diamond City and met…"

She reached out and spelled something. "Nick," Vivienne said delicately.

"I heard he was good at finding people, so I approached him with my story. He helped me get my revenge. Cesar's Legionnaires didn't legion-there for long."

A quiet settled over the group. Dayo filled it by rinsing quickly, then climbed out of the pool flicking extra water off her. "I wasted a lot of time just ignoring life after I lost my family. And maybe I can't beat myself up too much over it, but it gave those raiders the opportunity to spread all the same. They hit a few towns before holing up in a mine. If I'd gotten my shit together sooner, I could have maybe saved some lives."

Sera shook her head. "Bullshit. You were alone and grieving. You-"

"I was _mad_. I was so mad that it had happened, and I took it out on everybody. I could've warned people. I knew people who could've helped. Instead I spent over a month wallowing in my pity party and… Listen, I paid the price, and I'm trying to be an open book here," Dayo huffed, grabbing her dry clothes. "Because I want to own up to my mistakes. I've gotten good people killed, so I've learned from it." She looked over towards Blackwall. "Hear that? That's what being honest sounds like. I aired my regrets, and nobody here's kicking me to the curb."

"I am… glad you told us that." His gruff voice was quiet, and sincere, but that was all Blackwall offered.

Dayo audibly sighed and rolled her eyes, tugging on her shirt over damp skin. "Whatever. I tried. I'll go get a fire started to dry off." She finished getting dressed and tucked her leathers under her arm before she walked past Blackwall to a decent spot to set up camp. The silence lingered, and the rest of the night was absent of more commentary.

* * *

Within a week Dayo was reading short texts, meaning their lessons were drawing to a close. Vivienne kept her probes out about blackpowder but Dayo didn't say another word on the subject, and Vivienne felt frustrated at the secret.

"Summarize the memo for me," Vivienne said. They'd decided to work on Dayo reading the endless supply of short notes handed to her over the course of a day; it was practical application, and Vivienne got access to all those notes as part of it. Useful.

Midsentence, Dayo looked up as Leliana walked into the room. "What's up?" Dayo asked.

"We've been in contact with the Empress, about the assassination you foretold, in a sense, thanks to Alexius," Leliana said. "She is not…"

"Believing you?" Dayo offered.

"Yes. So we're sending you to her." Leliana sighed, pulling out thick vellum and handing it over to Dayo.

"A… gala?" Dayo asked, looking over the fancy writing.

"Very good," Vivienne said automatically.

"What's that?" Dayo asked.

Leliana exchanged a look with Vivienne. As two practiced in the Game, they understood the stakes more than Dayo-which made this a very risky mission. "A ball," Leliana said. "An event. Many people show up and dance."

"Quite a few important people make speeches," Vivienne added. "How did we get the invitation, Spymaster?"

"Extended to us by the Grand Duke Gaspard," Leliana replied.

"Celene's cousin? The self-same man who has the most motive for Empress Celene to be dead, after she stole the throne from him," Vivienne said. "And yet he invites the very people who have made no secret of their support for her."

"Either he thinks we'll fail, this is a trap of some kind, or he's not actually planning anything except drama," Leliana agreed. "It gives us an opening regardless. We can attend, protect the Empress, and impress the court all in one fell swoop."

"If we can impress the court," Vivienne said, sighing. "One wrong word and we could make some powerful enemies."

"I believe the Inquisition would have a bit more leeway," Leliana argued. "One wrong word wouldn't cause war. However, it could limit help we may desperately need in the future."

"We need to focus on convincing the Empress, I believe," Vivienne said, and Lelianna nodded in agreement. As one, the two women turned to look at Dayo, and Vivienne only then saw how pale she appeared.

"I… guys," Dayo said in a horrified tone. "I don't know how to _dance_."

* * *

"I am wearing exactly zero percent of that," Dayo said as she ogled the outfit Josephine was holding up. Her hand fell from Dorian's shoulder and she shifted to stand at his side, their practice halted.

"Really? I've already had some made up for the advisors," Josephine said. "And I'm ready to make more for those you decide to bring along."

"I must second that rejection," Vivienne said in horror. The vivid red might have been tolerable, but the gold was garish, especially the strange gold shoulder additions. And who had the nerve to add that bright blue sash atrocity?

"It hurts my eyes and my feelings," Dayo added.

"I do not think we can change anything this late," Josephine said, frowning. "There is not much time before the ball."

"If that's the outfit, can I ask to… not go?" Dorian added. Vivienne only knew the lady's part in dances, she had recruited a helper. He was a graceful dancer, thankfully.

"I'm more of a winter," Dayo agreed emphatically, leaning on Dorian.

"I will take care of it," Vivienne decided. "Dorian, can you take over from here? I must send out a few immediate notices."

"Of course I can," Dorian said smoothly. He could have taken over a while ago, but Vivienne was loathe to give up her involvement.

"Josephine, if you could forward me Dayo's measurements, it would be much appreciated." With that, Vivienne swept off to get word to her tailor.

Dayo's dance lessons were… going. Dorian was a patient partner and their friendship helped, but Dayo simply couldn't relax enough to feel the rhythm, and he'd taken to wearing thick boots. How the girl could hurl herself off staircases with a perfect roll but not master a 'one two three' rhythm was beyond Vivienne.

On top of all that, Vivienne was trying unsuccessfully to school her in the art of speech on the side as they did their reading lessons. Dayo's charm was a better match to the tough frontier she came from: direct, complimentary, and quick to point out bullshit. Vivienne knew she was warming to her brand of charisma despite her best efforts, but the Game was subtle, all about lacing insults into chivalry. Playing people, not befriending them.

Vivienne's sinking feeling grew daily.

"Viv, how's your man?"

The question came out of nowhere around the campfire one night. A group of them had headed off before the party to scout out some new camps and close a couple rifts. Dorian and Iron Bull had gone to patrol, though Dayo made it clear through her ribbing that they were most likely off to make out behind a tree. Vivienne had dropped that without comment. Though they'd grown closer, she was still shocked at the casual nature of the question. "Pardon, dear?"

"You mentioned that your, uh… lover? That he was sick, when we first met," Dayo said. "Bastien, right? How's he doing? Better?"

What a way to twist the knife. "Unfortunately, it is not progressing… well," Vivienne said, choosing her words carefully.

"Oh, damn, I'm sorry to hear," Dayo said. "Do you have any ideas of how to heal him or something?"

"...maybe. But the ingredients for the potion are… difficult to obtain."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Immediate, direct, and Vivienne knew there would be no requirement of a reciprocal favor. Vivienne honestly didn't know how Dayo was still alive. "One of the requirements is the heart of a white wyvern. I haven't found a way to get one yet." She'd been toying with the idea of asking Dayo for the favor, but she hadn't yet been able to shake the niggling feeling that always came with asking others for help. Somehow, staring into that open face, she couldn't stop herself.

The answer was immediate.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"We're in the middle of something," Vivienne said, gently reminding her.

"Of what? Closing rifts in the middle of nowhere to build our brand? We're just killing time until that party. I saw some wyverns in the Exalted Plains, I'm sure there are some white ones, yeah? We can leave early and hit it up on the way home."

"I don't think…"

"Hah, good thing I'm the leader, yeah?" Dayo gave her a thumbs up. "Come on, Viv. You've been helping me left and right. Was all the buttering up for this? You should've asked."

Vivienne looked at her horrified. "You don't think-"

"I mean, I thought you were sweet-talking me to get close to like, the Inquisitor," Dayo said outright. "That was okay. I wanted to figure you out anyway. But this is cuter. Didn't have to, though. I would've helped you heal your guy ages ago."

It felt like a punch in the gut. To have been seen through so early, so easily, and yet Dayo said it with zero malice. Some part of Vivienne felt infuriated that someone could be like this. "No, I had wanted to get close to the Inquisitor," Vivienne said, knowing she shouldn't, knowing that this could be the moment of self-destruction. "For more power, within the organization."

That moment didn't come. "Cool, well, it worked. I feel like I got the better end of that deal _vis a vis_ learning to read, so hopefully we can get that heart."

Bull and Dorian returned with perfect timing. Vivienne schooled her face into a mask. "Hey, we're gonna bounce early," Dayo said to them. "We're stopping by the Exalted Plains on the way back."

"Sounds good, Boss," Iron Bull said, glancing at Vivienne before heading to the one of the tents. Dorian lingered, then followed, all pretense lost. Dayo's laugh followed him as she stood, heading to take her own rest.

Vivienne stayed by the fire a while longer, lost in quiet thought.

* * *

The Inquisition had long since cleared the path to the swampy area where Dayo had first seen some wyverns. A few smaller wyverns attacked when they arrived and began exploration, but with a combination of their efforts they made short work of them using only a couple healing potions.

"Look!" Dayo hissed. She pointed out a flash of white around a column of rock and the group gave chase. The white wyvern hissed and turned on them the moment it noticed their presence.

Almost immediately the fight took a bad turn. This wyvern was faster than the others, able to take bigger chunks out of the group and sustain more damage. Dayo fell back, panting, her third shot still unable to penetrate its skin. "Oh hey, right, check out my new trick!" Dayo called out, raising up her hand with the mark.

It flashed green, and suddenly a tear formed in the sky. The wyvern attempted to jump towards the group, but the rift tugged at its body, slowing it down to a crawl and causing significant damage. Vivienne cast an ice spell, and with one well-placed swing of his warhammer the fight was over.

"Jesus but that was a tough baby," Dayo panted, smearing the back of her hand across her forehead as she drank a healing potion to close up the gashes where the claws had found holes in her armor. The rift above them closed like it had never been there.

"Of course it was strong," Vivienne said. "It was white and stood out to both predator and prey. You have to be twice as cunning and tough to survive a harsh environment while drawing attention." She felt Dayo's eyes rake her white clothes spotted with blood, but the Inquisitor refrained from comment. Vivienne drew out a dagger, ready to take the heart.

It was chaos when the dragon attacked.

It was on them like an angry mother, firing off magical shots against the group that splashed out bolts of electricity wherever they landed. It didn't help that the fight was taking place in a swampy valley, the group having to scrabble to dry land with every hit or risk electrocution, and the rock around them being mostly soft clay that threatened to collapse from too much force. Iron Bull drew as much of its ire as possible while the rest shot damage. Dayo didn't abandon their kill, instead choosing to try and bring the dragon down.

It was going okay, with their blows and dogged determination wearing down the large beast as it danced around the white wyvern's corpse to charge the members of her group. Vivienne kept taking damage, they all did, but they had enough potions left over to keep them on their feet. For a moment, it looked like they would win.

Iron Bull slammed his warhammer into the side of the dragon's head, read to dodge to the side once more, anticipating the dragon snapping forward to attempt to bite him or fire off another attack. However, this time the dragon extended its wings and pumped a few times, pulsing the wind around it and forcing them all off-balance. Using that momentum it jumped and spun in place, and Iron Bull got hit with the flat side of its tail. He went soaring, landed hard, and didn't move.

Dayo rushed to his side, and the two magic users were quick to cover her. The dragon took the bait and turned to the two, who scattered in opposite directions as a wave of lightning energy shot out in their direction. Vivienne was too slow and got caught up in the edge of the blast, crying out in pain and stumbling before fleeing. Vivienne realized too late that she'd been separated from the group, and in front of her was mostly open space with scarce cover. Oh Maker, let the thing chase Dorian.

She glanced back, ducking behind the first rock big enough to hide her once she noted she was out of its line of sight. Vivienne pressed her back to the stone, blood running down her face from her nose and her forehead. She hadn't been doing great even before getting caught with that last blast. None of the group was doing great. She reached into her bag, fingers finding only one more long neck of glass before she pulled out her last healing potion. Vivienne tilted back her head to swallow it down, hoping it would sustain her, before she felt a crunch and saw a shadow.

A bit of drool landed to her left, hissing with electrical energy, and Vivienne looked up, her eyes wide. The dragon stood above her with nostrils flaring. It scented her out as its claws dug into the soft rock she hid behind, and another bit of drool dropped from its mouth off of a tooth as long as her hand. Her entire body seized up with fear and she pressed a hand over her mouth as she ran through solutions. The dragon must have thought she ran further away, with its eyes trained to the horizon, but it wouldn't take it long to figure out its mistake.

Suddenly there was a sharp whistle piercing the air, one long, high note that rose at the end. The dragon's head turned in the direction of the noise, Vivienne following suit, and both saw Dayo. She was standing out in the open, fingers to her lips and yards from where Iron Bull was still struggling to his feet. "Hey asswipe, you're the reason some animals eat their own children!" Dayo yelled, before turning and fleeing. Vivienne was close enough to see the dragon's pupils dilate in a predator reflex, and it took chase.

Dayo beelined for a rock formation and flung herself up the face to climb out of the way. The dragon shot off an attack as it ran to her with a low roar. "Boss, down!" Iron Bull yelled, and Dayo dropped from the rock immediately, rolling as the electricity crackled above her missed by mere feet. The dragon was on her in another moment, but Dayo launched herself to the side. Its snout slammed into the rock, which shifted under the weight.

The dragon slammed out a clawed foot to try and turn quickly to follow Dayo but the rock face chose that moment to give way under the force. The unstable clay cracked apart and collapsed into rolling boulders, and for a fateful moment Dayo's feet got caught up in the debris at the same moment the dragon overbalanced. As it fell, the dragon stretched out its neck as long as it would go and snapped its jaw down on Dayo's leg. Hard. Vivienne heard a crunch, before Dayo screamed.

She saw its muscles in its shoulders tighten, preparing to shake Dayo until the other was lifeless, and Vivienne stood immediately to throw out a hand and cast-something, _anything_ to stop this.

Then Dayo whipped out her pistol and shot directly into the dragon's eye.

The dragon stiffened at the explosion, head jerking to the side, throwing Dayo from its now-slack jaw. The dragon stuttered on its feet, listing to the left until it collapsed, still alive but lacking most of its deadly coordination. Vivienne was running forward before the beast had fully fallen. She felt Dorian at her back, but Bull hung back, beelining to the dragon to make sure it stayed down.

Dayo was a collapsed lump on the ground, her pistol only a few feet away from her. As Vivienne neared, Dayo groaned and rolled on her back before stopping abruptly. Her leg looked a mess. She was conscious, but in pain, and blood was everywhere. Vivienne's heart shoved its way up her throat, pounding in pure panic at the sight of the grievous tear into the muscle of her thigh. "Dorian, Bull, give her a potion _now_ ," Vivienne snapped, her voice sounding thin and reedy with fear as she knelt beside her. Dayo was out, too. She should have saved her potion, _stupid_ -

"I'm out," Dorian rasped, dropping to his knees on the other side. Bull echoed the sentiment as he finished the kill on the dragon, and Vivienne's hands examined the wound before she went to unwrap her head scarf. Some of the blood spurted out with each weakening heartbeat, which meant the bite had hit an artery, which _needed_ to be closed, no exception. She dutifully ignored the fluttering of Dayo's hands, mistaking them for a delirious attempt to ease the pain she must be in.

"We have to tourniquet this, quickly, and-"

"Pouch."

It was Dayo, and Vivienne didn't stop. "What, my dear?" The inflection was automatic.

Dayo scrambled at the green pouch she wore around her waist. "Gotta… Stimpak. I can't..." Her fingers shook too much as she attempted to deal with the opening, tugging fruitlessly at the clasp.

As Vivienne tied off her upper thigh, Dorian moved to figure out the opening, finally sliding it correctly with an odd metallic noise. Dayo dug her hand into it and pulled out a small contraption, shaped like a crossbeam, with an odd circle at the top and a sharp needle at the bottom. With a trembling motion and a harsh grunt, Dayo stabbed the needle directly into her thigh.

Vivienne watched as the muscle knitted together under her hands, the bleeding stopping. Dayo was still pale, but her breathing calmed. "Fuck, I forgot how much those sting," she griped weakly. Dorian helped her sit up. Vivienne felt her breath catch at the wave of relief washing over her in that moment, making her so weak in the aftermath of the adrenaline that for a long moment she couldn't move. Dayo took the pistol Bull handed over, kissing its barrel. "Thanks, Geek."

"Pardon?" Bull asked.

"The pistol. It's GK… Ghoul Killer. I call it Geek."

"I would beg you to not do anything such as that again," Vivienne said upon finally standing, startling herself with how angry she sounded.

Dayo looked up with a small smile, unaffected by her cold fury, which could be the blood loss talking. "Sorry I worried you."

"You…" Vivienne swallowed the lie a moment later. She had been worried, and it wasn't a good feeling, but there it was. "I have too many people that I am worried about currently," was what she said instead. "Please do not add to that list."

"Deffo's isn't my plan A, Viv," Dayo said. She wiggled her feet. "Um… can I get help back to camp? The feeling isn't quite returned to my toesies yet. These Stimpaks are a little old."

Iron Bull scooped her up, but as they walked away, Dayo suddenly squawked in protest. "What is it?" Bull asked, alarmed.

"The heart! The whole reason for—we gotta cut out its heart!" Dayo said, squirming and pointing to the felled white wyvern.

Vivienne stared at her, then sighed. "I'm certainly already bloody," she said. "You rest." Dorian helped, and soon she had the object of her desire clutched in her hands. She wrapped it in parchment back at camp, before going to care for Dayo with their stashed potions until the girl made her clean up. Her heart didn't quite settle down until the next morning, when the four were on the road back to Skyhold and Dayo was able to walk on her own.

Upon their return, Vivienne went straight into making the healing potion while the ingredients were still as fresh as possible. "Do you think the potion will work?" Dayo was asking, perched on a chair, watching the process. The outfit Vivienne had ordered was laid out on her bed. It was a fine black shirt with crisscross patterns along the front in blue and silver, cut high just under her collarbones, with loose sleeves tight enough to stay out of the way during battle. Around her waist was a green wrap belt, wide with one side trailing in fine fabric down her legs and the same color as Dayo's eyes and the slash across her palm. Accompanying the ensemble were a pair of laced leather pants and high boots, trimmed with gold thread. Good enough for an Orlesian ball and more than outshining the monstrosity she'd been given before.

"It's an old recipe," Vivienne said, lighting a magical fire to heat the concoction. "And one of the ingredients is extinct. But I believe I have found a good substitute. With the white wyvern's heart, I have hope."

"That's good. I guess I'll see you when I get back, right?" Dayo said.

Vivienne glanced up. "I thought I was accompanying you to the ball?"

"What? No, go give your man the potion," Dayo replied, nose wrinkling like Vivienne had said something stupid.

"I could be of great use there," Vivienne reminded her. "Help you in conversations, deflect invitations to dance…"

"I'm hoping Leliana and Josephine will step up there," Dayo replied. "You should make this a priority. The sooner the better, right? Don't worry about us."

"Why?"

"Okay, you can worry if you want, I guess, but you don't have to-"

"No, why are you helping me so much? After what I said in the woods."

Vivienne knew her posture was too stiff to be fully neutral, and by now she knew Dayo was smart enough to see it, but she wanted the meaning of her question to be open. And Dayo, to her credit, thought about her answer.

"I guess I didn't think your intentions were bad," Dayo said after a pause. "You had a goal, sure, and maybe that goal involved using me. But you left a pretty sweet setup to join the Inquisition, and I doubt it was just to go cozy up with the new kid on the block. You care about the people here. You just want to have a good position from which to help out."

There was a pause, and Vivienne realized Dayo was waiting for some kind of confirmation. "…yes. The world is going through an upheaval, at the moment," Vivienne said, for once being entirely honest about her motivation. "The Inquisition is a fledgling organization to be sure, but you are at the epicenter. You will shape history, for better or worse, and I am here to try and guide it to 'better.'"

"Yeah. So I mean, for reals, you wanted power and I was the quickest way to get that power. But it wasn't like you were going to take over the world. You were here to save it, just like the rest of us, that much was obvious. And that's cool by me."

"And so you swept my floors."

When Vivienne glanced over again, Dayo was grinning. "Yeah. So I swept your floors. It all worked out. Look at us, being all open with each other… Blackwall's next, that fucker." She perked up. "Woah hey, it's turning red."

Vivienne dropped that conversation, and she left with her solution the next day. Moments before she was about the board her carriage, Dayo showed up. "Good luck," she said, reaching out and squeezing Vivienne's upper arm.

"I plan to use it," Vivienne said. "You try to not insult everybody in eyesight, will you?"

"No promises," quipped Dayo. There must have been something in Vivienne's return smile, because in the next moment Dayo was hugging her tight. "I'll just think, 'What Would Vivienne Do?' and it'll be fine," she said. "The Maker, mysterious ways, all that shit. Just be safe. I hope the potion works."

Her throat closed up momentarily, so all Vivienne could do was nod, the vividly red potion safe in her bag.

She really ought to tell Blackwall to get his shit together and level with Dayo.

* * *

"Vivienne?"

Vivienne felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes with how weak his voice sounded as she stood over his bed. "Yes, darling," she whispered, heart fluttering in her throat, setting the empty potion bottle aside. Bastien was awake. The doctors had said he hadn't woken up in a week, and that he was wasting away in a coma. And here he was, looking up at her, his eyes holding the same brilliance they'd held when the two had first met.

"It's going to be all right, my love."

And then he was gone.

Vivienne stayed long enough to help put the funeral preparations in order, and when she departed to return to the Inquisition, her chest hurt as if her heart had been torn out and left behind.

* * *

Her return's timing was perfect. She was just unpacking when the noise volume raised outside, indicating the arrival of someone important. A few moments later, Dayo walked by, still in her ball outfit. Vivienne knew immediately something had gone wrong by the hunch of her shoulders and the way she refused to look at anybody. Vivienne turned to leave her balcony and head to Dayo's room, where the other was no doubt holed up in a full sulk.

Her door wasn't locked, which was as good as an invitation. Vivienne headed up the stairs to see Dayo sitting on her bed, slumped against the headboard and looking as dejected as Vivienne had ever seen her.

"How did it go?" Vivienne asked delicately, going to sit by her. She knew the answer, but Dayo didn't need a lecture. It seemed she'd rather have an ear.

Dayo frowned, looking away. "A hair better than abject failure," she muttered. "I said all the wrong things at the wrong times."

"I doubt _everything_ went wrong."

"Well…" Dayo paused. "I got the Empress back together with her girlfriend. And saved her from the weird lady who had the assassination hard-on. And I think I got some good intel for Leliana... But I think I insulted about half the people there, fucked up at the dance, and it was all kinds of bad when I had to keep leaving the party." She snorted. "I think some people didn't even like that I showed up on time to something, which is the _stupidest_ … stupidest…"

"Don't give those nobles any mind," Vivienne said as Dayo trailed off despondently. "The reach of the Game is strong, but the further from Orlais you get, the weaker its hold. The Inquisition is a force to be reckoned with at this point regardless of any faux pas you may have-"

"I don't give two flying fucks about those stuck-up asshats," Dayo interjected. "But _you guys_ wanted me to do better. Why are you telling me not to worry? You know it's bullshit." She lifted her head, and Vivienne was shocked to see she was tearing up.

Dayo cared about her opinion. She put her trust in Vivienne despite everything and was showing a crack in that cheerful visage she wore. Vivienne wasn't quite surprised to discover that instead of exploiting a weakness, all she wanted to do was protect that crack and make sure nothing got through.

So she put a hand on Dayo's shoulder. "It is important. This may bite you in the butt later. But you've done too much good elsewhere for me to let you get too caught up in this. I'm sure I can help Leliana run damage control on this later, and it won't be as bad as you think." In fact, an outspoken foreigner who gave no shits might be a fun spin. Unpredictable was sometimes a powerful weapon.

Dayo slowly smiled, reaching up and wiping away at one of her eyes, smearing some of her makeup. "You said butt. I think that's the closest you've ever gotten to being unprofessional."

Vivienne reached out her thumb and smudged away the messed-up makeup. "Do not count on a repeat, my dear." On a whim, she wrapped an arm around Dayo's shoulder and awkwardly squeezed her in a brief hug. It was a simple motion, but that alone seemed to put a lot of the usual pep back in the Inquisitor.

"Vivienne, how did it go on your side? That's way more important than some stupid noble."

Ah. The question she dreaded. Vivienne looked away, frowning. "...he. He didn't..." Oh Maker, now she was tearing up.

"Oh no."

"I met him on my first trip to the Wintersend Palace, as an envoy from the circle. When our eyes met for the first time… he didn't leave my side for a moment."

"Oh _no_. Vivienne, I'm so sorry."

"You're… too kind. I've sent word to his son and daughter. He was… he was so dashing, and smart, and could… he could diffuse a fight with just a joke and a glass of wine, he..."

Then she was wrapped up in a pair of warm arms, and Dayo was hugging her close. "Vivienne, seriously, I'm _so_ sorry, I really am."

Vivienne had more on her tongue, but it died, shriveled up into the grief she'd tried to stuff back inside of herself. She'd felt so alone on her way back, isolated. For once, she could just… not play the Game. In this moment, she felt okay to turn her face into Dayo's shirt and simply cry, fingers gripping the fine cloth. For her part, Dayo just held her.

She pulled away and wiped her face once the tears subsided, seeing that Dayo had smudged her own makeup again. Vivienne smiled weakly, going to fix it once more.

"So I don't know if this sort of thing will cheer you up," Dayo said. "But Sera got me a small supply of guano from a friend and on the trip back I think I managed to make some blackpowder. Want to watch me shoot exploding bolts at targets?"

Vivienne gave a small smile. A walk outside would do her good. "I never got to see you wear that outfit. Put it on for this and I'll be more than glad to bear witness."

"You somehow manage to add class to any situation, huh?" Dayo replied, but laughed, and stood up to change. Vivienne waited outside, and then the two headed downstairs, Dayo filling her in on what happened.

They didn't have to go far. Varric was waiting just outside the tower, frowning with his arms folded in front of him. "Hey, kiddo," he said, straightening as he saw Dayo. "Sorry about your night."

"I wish I'd stepped on more toes," Dayo said vindictively. "Buncha bastards."

"Good attitude. I've told you that you remind me of someone, right?" He thumbed over his shoulder. "I'd actually like you to meet her."

It was only then Vivienne saw the figure behind Varric, stepping forward out of the shadows of midnight. Vivienne had never seen them before, but once she stepped into the moonlight, Vivienne couldn't not recognize her. The armor, the stance, the staff… the smear of red across her nose.

"The Champion of Kirkwall."

"Who?" Dayo asked.

The brown-skinned figure laughed, running her fingers back through her black hair to push it back from her bright blue eyes. "My name's Hawke. I'm here to help you find some Gray Wardens."


End file.
